52 Flavours: The Sorceress and the Swordsman
by savvyliterate
Summary: There's always one person in your life that will help you to see the world through different eyes and be there to share those experiences with you. A collection of short stories centering around Lina and Gourry.
1. Five Shades of White

**Author's Note:** This story is actually a collection of 52 short stories done for the LiveJournal community, 52flavours. The idea behind the Lina/Gourry pairing in this fic claimage is to produce a fanfic that is very similiar to "Shikon no Go," one of my Inuyasha fanfics and also the "Sketchbook" collection of drabbles for Slayers. But, a challenge to myself - something I should had done for "Shikon no Go" - is that each story must have at least 1,000 words. So, they're not just random drabbles. They have some thoughts put into each piece. And it'll jump over the specturm from the beginning of the series (like this first story) to years beyond the end of the series. The title of each story is the corresponding theme for 52flavours.

**Additional note:** This story takes place between episodes 10 and 11 of the anime or between novels 1 and 2.

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Story #1 - "Five Shades of White"

Ever since she was a child, Lina Inverse hated the snow.

When the harvests were brought to the great, twisting roads of Zefiel City, she knew it was close to that time of year when most people would be sequestered into their homes to spend their days by a warm fire. The few excursions that were made were to school, work, and to worship at the Temple of Ceiphied at the highest point of the city. But even that proved to be hazardous in some weather.

For someone who had always wanted to explore since she figured out how to crawl, winter was a death sentence to Lina. She hated being restricted in any manner. Great, big gobs of fluffy white snow were as binding to her as a good bit of rope or a casting of the Lafas Seed spell.

The worst part of snowfall was having to deal with the aftermath. She admitted that it was gorgeous when it first fell, and everything was blanketed in pristine whiteness. After the snowfall ended, it would dull slightly, but was still white. After a few hours, some streaks of black mixed in with the grey and took the snow down another of white. Then, it would become half-white, half-grey as more people started to venture outdoors. Finally, it would be nearly black as the snow mixed with mud and turned into slush.

She hated traveling through the stuff, and she had been doing so for a few years now. The wetness would seep through her clothing, even her underclothes, to penetrate her skin - leaving her cold, clammy and not in a good humor at all.

Not long after the defeat of Shabranigdu, Lina pushed aside the curtain in her inn room and visibly winced at the snow falling outside. She sighed and let it drop. No traveling for her today. It was a shame too. There was a decent-sized bandit camp about an hour's walk away that had recently hauled in a new cache of stuff. Lina knew this because she and Gourry had staked them out the day before. The only reason they hadn't moved in at that time was their dual rumbling stomachs and the lack of available food.

Her eye caught a flash of blue and yellow out in the snow and she pushed the curtain aside again. She blinked, rubbed at the window to clear it of her own condensation and watched her protector move about in the snow with the same ease he did on the battlefield.

He was wearing some sort of cloak over his clothing, but didn't have his armor on. His head was bare and the only thing covering his hands was his fingerless gloves that were mainly suppose to protect him from his own weapon, not freezing cold weather.

"What a jellyfish," Lina muttered under her breath and muttered a spell under her breath. She had managed to perfect a spell a few years earlier that allowed her to store her things on the Astral Plane when not in use - something she sorely needed after Naga had torched all of her belongings in their first meeting. She located fur-lined gloves, a large cloak, thick socks and two hats.

Dressing as warmly as she could, Lina ventured out into the snow as Gourry was rolling a large ball of snow around the inn courtyard. Already shivering, she hugged herself as she made her way over to Gourry's side.

His head snapped up, almost as if he sensed her. He grinned happily at her. "Lina! Isn't this great? Look at this!" He spread his arms wide at the falling snow.

"Are you crazy?" Lina hugged herself tighter, her teeth chattering. "It's freezing out here? Where did you get that cloak?"

"This?" Gourry tugged at the ice-encrusted garment. "The inn owner lent it to me. He said we won't be traveling anywhere today."

"Well, if we're not going anywhere, neither are those bandits. Gourry, have you never been in snow before? Bend down!" She tugged at him until he obliged and she pulled the extra hat on his head. It was a snug fit, but it would suffice for now. "You're going to catch your death and we'll waste precious time waiting for you to get over pneumonia while the bandits squander my...er the loot."

Lina grabbed Gourry's hands and frowned when she noticed his fingertips were blue. She opened her mouth to scold him again when he cut her off.

"No, I haven't," he said softly.

Lina raised an eyebrow. "You've never been around snow?"

"Well, no. Not very much." Gourry gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm from Elmekia. It's mostly desert down there."

That made sense. Gourry was right, Elmekia was mostly desert. It did fit, Lina thought, the way that Gourry was unusually resilient and his blond hair. The Swordsman of Light had originally defeated Zanaffar in Sairaag, so she wondered how the Gabriev family got from there all the way to the other end of the Mazoku barrier. The corners of her mouth twitched. It was a good bet Gourry probably didn't even know, or remembered, much of his own family history.

But for now...Lina moved her hands so both of Gourry's were sandwiched between them. She chanted under her breath and her hands glowed with magic - just enough to warm his hands.

She was so caught up in what she was doing that she didn't notice him giving her a befuddled look or his eyes softening. After a minute or so, she took her hands away, pleased to see them looking healthy and normal again. It was in her best interest to keep Gourry in good shape after all.

"Well, come on," she ordered him. "You're not dressed to handle this type of weather."

Gourry gazed at his half-built snowman somewhat wistfully. "I wish we could finish this first."

Lina pivoted and headed back to the inn. "Don't be such a jellyfish. We've got to find you a pair of gloves. Then you can come back and finish."

His eyes lit up. "Lina!"

She shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe I'll even join you."


	2. The Cruelest Month

**Disclaimer:** "Slayers" does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place after the end of Slayers NEXT and the Slayers N>EX radio dramas.

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Story #2: "The Cruelest Month"

It seemed like a month when everything that could had gone wrong did go wrong, starting from their pursuit by Gaav in the Claire Bible temple and Auntie Aqua had given Lina a glimpse into what her future could had been had things gone wrong during the fight with Shabranigdu. Then, Gaav and Hellmaster Phibrizzo fought them (and each other) at the real Claire Bible location, which led to Gourry being kidnapped by Phibrizzo, Lina and her friends racing against time to get to Sairaag, seeing the city be revived as a ghost city and everything culminating in Lina casting the Giga Slave because she had chosen Gourry over the entire universe.

Yes, it was safe to say that the month absolutely sucked.

The most ironic thing about the month was that Gourry had absolutely no recollection of it. After he was first rescued, the group edged away from the topic of what had happened to him during his captivity. Lina, Amelia, Zel and Sylphiel all agreed that any time spent in the hands of Hellmaster Phibrizzo was heinous and they wouldn't pressure Gourry to talk about it at all until he was ready to do so. Their only conversation to date about the entire incident was just Lina and Gourry trying to explain what happened in the Sea of Chaos.

But even during that conversation, Lina had kept quiet about the true reason she had chosen to cast the Giga Slave. All she would say was that she was forced into it and cut off any other questioning after that. Thankfully, Martina didn't show up until after Lina had explained that, or she was sure that the princess would had made her tell all about her real reason.

It wasn't like she was ashamed of why she cast the spell! Lina knew that she cared deeply for Gourry...more deeply than she had ever cared for anyone before. At night, she would take out that little memory and turn it over and over in her mind as she relived those moments up until her memory went blank.

She had chosen Gourry over the entire world.

She had called on him to give her the strength she needed - not any sort of dark power, or even the Lord of Nightmares herself despite it being her spell. She had tapped into whatever emotion she felt toward Gourry and he apparently returned, based on some of the hints he had dropped in the past. The Lord of Nightmares had a capricious nature, as Xelloss had told them, and was probably amused by the entire situation. Zelgadiss told Lina that the Lord of Nightmares said that her wish had been a pure one.

That was when Lina shoved the memory back to the corner of her mind where she kept other things that she wished to suppress - like the time when she was eight and one of the boys at school had thought it funny to drop a slug down the back of her tunic. It wasn't that it was a bad memory per-say. It just caused Lina to feel all sorts of funny little emotions that she wasn't ready to deal with at the moment.

Two months after the battle, Lina finally asked Gourry what he remembered. She had waited until they were alone, with Sylphiel and Amelia having both returned to Saillune City and Zelgadiss off on his latest search for a cure. Xelloss wasn't around, but no one had seen him since their few scattered adventures after Martina's wedding.

She'd chosen a time when they were walking together down a stretch of road and had slipped it into casual conversation. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye to gauge his response as she lightly asked if he remembered what had happened after Phibrizzo captured him.

Gourry stopped walking and frowned. He scratched his head for a moment and gave her a bright smile. "Absolutely nothing!"

Lina froze and slowly turned back to him. She stomped the few paces back to his side. Anger rolled inside of her and she fisted his shirt, jerking his face so they were nearly nose to nose. "Don't pull a jellyfish moment on me," she hissed. "What do you remember?"

His smile faded slightly, replaced by confusion. "I'm being honest, Lina. The last thing I remember was Phibrizzo taking me away and you running after me. Then, the next thing I knew, you were that glowing gold lady."

Lina's fist relaxed into an open hand, which she slapped softly against his chest. Her head drooped and she sighed. It figured. The days she had spent agonizing over his life and he didn't remember a thing. It just wasn't fair! She had never felt so miserable, so lost in her life, all because he wasn't by her side, and he didn't remember a damn thing. Just how much crueler could life get?

Gourry glanced down at the top of her head, still confused. He tilted his head to one side, trying to get a look at her face. "Lina, are you all right?"

"No," she muttered against his chest. "I was just considering how the universe seems to be consistently out to get me."

"Oh. I see." But he really didn't. He didn't think he would quite get it, even if he knew what she had been talking about. But because it seemed like she really needed it, Gourry placed his arms around her and drew her into a hug. She stiffened slightly before her arms snaked around his waist, returning it.

"I don't remember what happened during then," he admitted. "But, if it felt anything like the time when you were almost killed last year and then when you fell off the cliff this year, it's not a good feeling to have."

Lina blinked as the memory of the battle against Kanzeil came back and she had faked him, and everyone else out, by pretending to fall to her doom - giving her enough to get into position and cast a Dragon Slave with her newly restored magic. She remembered Gourry's anguish and, suddenly, his request all those months ago for her to consider his feelings made sense.

She pulled away from him and gave him a bright smile. For some reason, it didn't matter anymore if he remembered what had happened when he was captured or not. She had a feeling that Gourry knew what she had gone through anyhow.


	3. Four Rings of Light Upon the Ceiling

**Disclaimer:** "Slayers" does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place after Slayers TRY and refers back to some of the events toward the end of that series.

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Story #3: "Four Rings of Light Upon the Ceiling Overhead"

It had taken them three days to get to this point, starting from the moment that Lina realized there was a cave in the area that didn't appear on their map. She had wanted to explore it, and wanted to explore it _now_.

Gourry frowned at the rather tall and obvious stone structure jutting out of the desert. "That's silly," he said. "Why wouldn't this be on a map? We're in the desert, Lina. It's not like it's hard to miss."

Lina sighed, a bit exasperated. "Because they don't want people to find it, jellyfish. Why do you think things such as this get overlooked?" Her eyes sparkled as visions of priceless treasures and little-known knowledge danced in her head. It could be gems or jewels or maybe even a fragment of the Claire Bible! Okay, so she had managed to get a glimpse at some of the knowledge thanks to Milgasia a couple years earlier. But that didn't mean she would pass up the chance for another crack at it.

"Even so," Gourry jerked his thumb at the cave, "it's hard to overlook something this big."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Gourry, you just don't get it, do you?"

He blinked at her and tilted his head slightly to one side. "Get what?"

She grabbed his sleeve. Trying to reason with Gourry would be about as effective as Lina going up, addressing the cave and expecting it to answer her. "Let's just go!"

-----

They didn't make it far the first day before Lina realized that the cave was pretty big and would take a few days to explore throughly. She decided it was worth the time investment to check it out. It wasn't like she and Gourry had to be anywhere to begin with. Sure, there was that trip to Zefielia Gourry had hinted at a couple months before, but Lina really was trying to prevent the eventual reunion with her sister as long as possible.

She called a halt to their looking and they retreated to the nearest town.

The next day, they returned with enough supplies tucked into Lina's pocket on the Astral Plane to last a week. They spent the entire day walking through the main tunnel and exploring a few of the side caverns.

Gourry scanned the walls as Lina walked ahead of him suspending a ball of mage light. He stopped and squinted at something. He tapped at it, then called down to her as the light moved away. "Hey, Lina! What's this on the wall?"

Lina headed back to him and studied it. Carved into the stone was faint etchings, so old that they had almost smoothed out entirely. She grinned up at Gourry. "Nice catch! I didn't see those. It's rune writing all right." She put more power into the Lighting spell until the entire cavern was brightly lit. She squinted and tried to make out some of the words. She recognized a few key phrases, but nothing concrete.

This only solidified the possibility of something wonderful to be found further on in the cave. Her excitement rising, she almost ran down the corridor, frantically scanning the walls for more runes or anything that she could legitimately use as an excuse to believe that there was something in here other than dark, dank walls.

She wondered if someone had tried to build a secret city beneath the ground. Some of the side caverns had held what appeared to be storage rooms and, much to their relief, rooms that functioned as a bathroom. It made sense, Lina thought. The further they headed in, the more time it would take to reach the outside world. The workers would have to fashion some areas in which to store their supplies and relieve themselves without desecrating the rest of the place.

"But, wouldn't they eventually run out, even after getting to this point?" Gourry asked after one of these stops and they decided to use one of the empty storage rooms as their camp site for the night. "You'd have to eat some of the food to even get here. They didn't use pack animals."

"You're right. If they had, we would had seen animal droppings or stains from where urine splashed up on the walls. Animals wouldn't control themselves the way humans do - and even then that's debatable. Many slaves wouldn't stop to take a piss if their master was cracking a whip over them. So, whoever built this place was really hung up on cleanliness." Lina drew her knees up to her chin and looked around the small room. "You can tell small fires were burned in here, and there's the bones of someone's dinner over in the corner. None of these traces are in the main cavern. Whatever this place is, it's really sacred."

Gourry fidgeted. He was starting not to like this place much at all. Something about it just didn't seem right to him. It reminded him of the times Lina dragged him into really old temples - like something bad had happened in this place. He unrolled his bedroll, and after a moment of consideration, pushed it next to Lina's.

She turned from where she had been stowing the rest of their dinner supplies in her pack and scowled at him. "What do...what do you think you're doing, Gourry?" she hissed, blushing furiously.

He unbuckled his armor and set it aside, but kept his sword within arm's reach. "I figure I'd sleep over here tonight. You know, just in case something spooks you."

"The only thing that's spooking me is you," she growled. Her eyes began to sparkle with hints of mischief. "Gourry, are you _scared _of this place?"

"No!" He lied. Lina smirked. He quickly got into his bedroll.

"How cute," she teased. "You need me to protect you from the big, bad ghosts that wander the area. You know, I think I have a teddy bear you can cuddle..."

"Cut it out!" Gourry turned onto his side so he could face her. "It's not that...there's just something about this place that doesn't feel right. It's like there's something huge and we're the only two people in here and that thing is much bigger than ourselves."

She studied him for a moment, realization starting to dawn. _And you don't want to be alone_, she silently finished for him. She slipped into her own bedroll and turned so she faced him as well. He watched her intently and her heart started to beat a little faster. The moment called for something, she just wasn't sure what to do in this case.

She bit her lip, then reached out, and laid her hand on top of his and closed her eyes. He moved his hand slightly, so their fingers were linked.

Neither of them slept much that night.

-----

All of that had led up to this moment, when they finally stumbled into a huge room that seemed to go on forever and ever. Ever since Gourry had made his statement about the place not feeling right, Lina had mulled over it, adding it to her own observations about the large hallway leading into the gigantic main cavern, the human-sized storage and bathrooms, and the rune-markings they had seen on the wall.

She was starting to figure out exactly what this place was.

The main cavern was mostly empty, with a few pedestals jutting out of the ground. Intricate patterns were carved into the walls, but they didn't seem to form enough of a coherent pattern to indicate that they were any style of writing - or at least writing that Lina was familiar with.

She cast a large ball of mage light and sent it to the ceiling, trying to illuminate as much of the room as possible. At most, she had managed to illuminate a quarter of the room.

Gourry stared up, trying to see the light. He suddenly pointed at the ceiling. "Look up there!"

Lina craned her head, eyes widening when she saw part of an elaborate portrait. She let out a low whistle and levitated up to see it better. "I'm going to make it brighter in here," she called down to him.

He watched as she flew to different parts of the cavern. Soon, there were four rings of light hovering close to the ceiling - each a shining ball of mage light. She sailed back to him and landed nimbly on her feet. She sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her glove.

"You can't tell it from here, but that's the largest Lighting spell I could cast without losing control over the Levitation spell." Lina sighed when Gourry rewarded her with a blank stare. "I cast the biggest spell I could without falling, in other words."

"Oh." Understanding now, Gourry craned his neck to get a good look at the ceiling.

An elaborate mural sprawled above them, the edges of it disappearing into darkness beyond the edges of Lina's collective spells. In each quadrant, a large dragon was featured with smaller dragons clustered around it. Neither of them could quite tell what the smaller dragons were doing, but Lina instantly recognized the larger ones.

"Those are the subordinates of Ceiphied," she told Gourry. "Flarelord, Aqualord, Earthlord and Airlord. Remember when we were in Filia's temple? I remember a similar depiction of Flarelord in there. Gourry, this is a dragon temple."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Which type of dragon though? Aren't there more than one?"

"My guess is that this is Ancient Dragon. The location is consistent, as well as the age of the building based off the runes we discovered and the fact that the four dragons are represented - not just one." Lina frowned. "It would also account for it being taken off a map, especially after the Golden Dragons destroyed the remaining Ancient Dragons. It's not entirely out of reach that the same genocide was going on up here as it was in Filia's lands."

Gourry felt slightly sick to his stomach, remembering the slaughtering of the Golden Dragons in their effort to beat back Valgaav. Filia had also relayed to them what had happened to the Ancient Dragons. That, as well, had been hard to bear. "If it was the Golden Dragons, then wouldn't they destroy the temple?"

"You have a point. My guess is that the Ancient Dragons vacated this place before that could happen. I bet that if you look at this spot from above, it'll look like a bit of rock. So a dragon in flight may not notice it being anything other than part of the natural landscape." Lina shivered slightly as her theory solidifed. "I'm willing to bet that this was going to be a refuge - a place of last resort for the dwindling Ancient Dragons. Hence, the lack of overall ornamentation with the exception of this room."

"But what about the places that could accommodate us?"

"Simple enough to answer." Her voice dropped to a near whisper. "This place, the bulk of it, was built by human slaves. Hundreds, probably thousands of them. The Ancients could do the bulk of the work themselves, but it would draw too much attention. The Golden Dragons wouldn't be interested in the whims of humans - unless it infringed on their territory."

As Lina spoke, one by one her spells dissipated until they were in complete darkness. Gourry swallowed and unconsciously took a step closer to Lina and felt his arm brush against hers. He quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders, partly to make sure he wouldn't lose her in the huge cavern and also because the more Lina discussed the temple's possible past, the more uneasy he felt.

Lina didn't move to cast another Lighting spell. His grip on her tightened.

"It feels like the time we saw all of those dead dragons," he said quietly.

"Yeah." He felt her arms snake around his waist and he immediately returned the hug. They held each other for a few minutes until Lina broke the embrace and cast a new Lighting spell.

"This place is creeping me out. Let's get out of here," she suggested.

"I'm not about to disagree with you," Gourry responded and they hurried out of the main cavern.


	4. Everything You Ever Wished For

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Author's Note:** Takes place after the 15th novel and makes vague mentions back to some of the earlier novels - mainly the second and sixth novels. There's also lots of spoilers for the Gourry side-story, "The Things He Sees Beyond the Point of His Sword," originally published in the 21st Slayers Special novel.

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Story #4 - "Everything You Ever Wished For"

The small fires that dotted the remains of the bandit camp looked like twinkling bits of candlelight from where Lina stood. She drew in a deep breath of clean air and slowly exhaled, right before she broke into a wicked grin. It felt good to be the bandit killer again and do what she does best. She laced her fingers together, immensely pleased with herself. All it took was one little Sleeping spell shot through the wall into Gourry's room and...

"Lina..."

_Uh oh._ Lina slowly turned to see her annoyed partner and guardian leaning against a nearby tree, giving her the best glare that he could muster. When Gourry chose to be pissed, he could pull it off quite well. And right now, he appeared to be very pissed.

There wasn't many options for her to take at this point. She could either sass him, which would simply escalate into an argument that would quickly wake the rest of the countryside that she hadn't shaken out of their beds with her combination of fireball and Mega Brando spells, or she could utilize the power of cute to her advantage and use that to sway Gourry.

Lina opted for cute. But the moment she blinked big, puppy-dog eyes at him, he simply scowled in return.

"I'm not falling for it this time," he said tersely.

Okay. Well, argument it is. Lina held her arms akimbo and shot him a glare that matched his scowl. "What's got your underwear in a bunch anyhow? And why the hell are you up in the middle of the night? I swore I heard you sawing logs in your room."

"I _was_ until I heard you drop your shoulder guards on the floor. Lina, we've been traveling together for more than three years now. You don't get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom very often. You don't think I don't know you by now?"

Lina sighed and plopped on the ground with a sulk. She should had known the old Sleeping through the wall routine wouldn't work. It hardly ever did with Gourry. The one time she had managed to slip past him and go bandit hunting, Amelia had followed her instead - proclaiming it to be a mission for the sake of justice.

"You know, you're weird," she informed Gourry. "We loot bandit camps all during the day and you have no problem with it. As soon as it gets dark, you become worse than my parents. I know you're not fond of my raiding bandit camps..."

He merely lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay, so you don't care very much for it at all," she hastily amended. "That hasn't stopped you before."

Gourry sank onto his haunches and all of a sudden, to Lina, he seemed to be very tired. She frowned at him and quickly did the mental calculations. She was 18 and he once mentioned he was seven years older than her, which would put him at 25. The last three years of their lives had been very rough on them both, but even so, he looked worn.

"It's not the bandit thing," he said. "Some of it is, but... Just don't do it again, okay?"

_Whoa, something's off here._ Lina chewed on her bottom lip and held up a finger. "Clarification. Not rob another bandit camp, or sneak out after dark without telling you?"

"Sneak out after dark without telling me."

"Why?"

He slid all the way to the ground and stared at her. This little mystery intrigued Lina to the point where she shoved her newly acquired treasure into her cloak and shifted so she sat with her legs folded beneath her. It looked like he was trying to debate against telling her something or not. Her heart began to do funny, odd flips inside her chest.

Gourry gazed up at the stars, hands loosely dangling over his knees. "Right before I met you, I almost threw away the Sword of Light."

"You _what?" _Lina shot to her feet and growled. "I swear to Ceiphied, if you had done such a thing..."

"I didn't!" He hastily added. "Do you think we'd be where we are today if I had?"

"No." Lina relaxed slightly. "But still that was...the most jellyfish of jellyfish moments you've ever had. Giving up the Sword of Light. What were you thinking?"

She half-expected him to give her some silly answer, like he had nearly traded it away for some food. Instead, he glanced away from her, a mixture of emotions crossing his face. "I had my reasons," he said softly.

This was starting to get deep. "What stopped you?" she asked just as quietly.

Gourry looked almost half-ashamed and muttered something about not wanting to be a third-class swordsman. Lina quirked an eyebrow in response. She had never considered Gourry to be any less than first-class. He quite possibly was the best swordsman in their world, with only her sister as Knight of Ceiphied beating him out. Considering that they were on their way to her hometown in Zefielia, she would have a chance to gauge them side by side very soon.

"Anyhow," he continued, "I met a fisherman...or a merchant. I'm not quite sure what he was, but he was a merchant. He was quite pushy." _Come to think of it,_ _he reminds me of Lina_, Gourry thought to himself, the comparison coming quite unexpectedly. "He talked me out of it."

"Really. He gave you a talk about not being a third-class swordsman and that suddenly changed your attitude?"

"No. We fought some Mazoku together. For a merchant, he was pretty good. He knew that offensive spell that kills a Mazoku spirit and said his youngest daughter taught it to him. His eldest daughter taught him how to channel his will into a fishing rod to make it a weapon."

Lina sucked in a deep breath, instantly alert. _He couldn't have met... _"Gourry, are you sure about that? Your memory isn't exactly the most dependable thing, you know."

"I remember this!" he shot back at her. "He never gave me his name, but I remember what happened and how he got me to consider using the Sword of Light to do something."

"To do what?"

"To do something...anything with my sword. To make a difference with it. Shortly after that, I met you."

She filled in the blanks. _So you decided to make a positive change by saving me after I was surrounded by bandits and we've been together ever since._ Still, his description of the man he encountered sounded like only one other person Lina had known in her life. It was strange that she would know of this man, after all there were many people in the world. But not many had two daughters that would teach him how to channel his will into an object and an offensive spell against Mazoku. Her lips curled into a half-smile. She was willing to place a large wager that Gourry was going to be meeting that man again very soon.

She scooted over next to him. "That didn't answer my question. Why do you not want me sneaking around at night?"

Gourry gave her an exasperated look. "You can do what you like. Stopping you is like trying to stop a runaway wagon."

She glared at him. "Hey..."

"It's the truth. Just tell me first, all right? That way I won't think you've run off and left me behind."

_So that's it. _Lina got on her knees and quickly bopped him on his head. "You jellyfish! Of course I'm not going to ditch you! Do you think after all we've gone through that I'm going to leave you behind?"

He laughed, then laid his hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly. "Well..."

"Idiot." But she was laughing.

Impulsively, Gourry wrapped dropped his arm so it wrapped around her shoulder and was happy when she didn't pull away from the embrace. His encounter with the man had made him think about what he really wanted at that point in his life. He had wanted to make a difference in someone's life, to use the Sword of Light to help save someone. The first person he had stumbled across had been so feisty, so confident that he was quite sure his skills weren't needed there.

But, he couldn't walk away. Maybe he could make a difference, even for this young woman who didn't see to need it. So he stayed and gained his best friend, partner, and now the person he cared for most. He had made a difference in her life, but she had made an even bigger change in his. She'd given his life meaning. His hold on her tightened. Lina was everything he'd ever wished for.


	5. Effect of Impact on Stationary Objects

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Author's Note:** This scene takes place during the sixth novel. Those who have read it will get it immediately. Those who haven't, I highly recommend going out this minute and buying said novel.

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Story #5 - "The Effect of Impact on Stationary Objects" __

After a few minutes of silent eating - well, silent except for the loud scarfing noises - I looked over at Gourry. There was something I'd been meaning to talk to him about.

"Gourry?" I asked, hoping I could get his attention.

"Mm?" he mumbled, slurping from his plate of pasta.

Just say it, Lina. Since when does he ever pay attention?

"Actually," I began, then paused. "I'd like you to, well...keep me company tonight."

I heard a couple of utensils drop onto plates. Amelia gasped. "Lina-san!" she cried. "That's very...direct of you!"

"Ah," Xelloss sighed, his smile taking on entirely new levels of creepy. "It seems that spring has finally arrived."

I spat out my stew. "Hey!" I choked as I wiped my mouth. "That's NOT what I meant!" I whipped my head to Gourry, but he'd already gone flush. "Why are you blushing?" I shrieked.

"Uh..." Gourry scratched his head uncomfortably. "Well, when a man and a woman love each other very-"

"NO!" I made sure to cut him off before he said ANOTHER WORD. "I meant I wanted to get in some extra sword practice! What is wrong with all of you!"

Amelia knitted her brow in puzzlement. "Huh?"

Xelloss raised an eyebrow. "Non-euphemistic sword practice?"

"YES!"

Amelia and Xelloss exchanged disappointed glances.

Excerpt from Slayers novel #6: Vezendi's Shadow by Hajime Kanzaka

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After they returned from getting the new shoulder guards, Gourry disappeared for about an hour. He showed up at the dinner table and announced that Radok had a suitable place for them to practice and was willing to let them use it.

"How did you manage to swing it past him?" Lina asked as they crossed over the yard to one of the outbuildings.

"I just told him the truth - that you wanted to get in some extra sword practice. He started ranting about you needing the extra practice and I just nodded and said it would help you catch Zuuma faster."

"Good for you, Gourry!" Lina slapped him on the back as he opened the door.

The building was pretty sparse, with a few weapons lining the wall and some armor stacked on stands in a corner. The room was used for sword practice when it was too dark to see or when the weather was bad, and also doubled as a storage area. Lina lit the room with a Lighting spell while Gourry walked over to one of the racks and selected two wooden swords.

He walked back over to her, but didn't hand her one. "Take off your cape and shoulder guards," he instructed, his normal light-heartedness gone.

For a quick moment, Xelloss' tease of "non-euphemistic sword practice" flashed through Lina's mind. She immediately batted it away. Xelloss was just being a pain in the ass again. But Gourry's serious response to the matter actually deserved more thought. He had actually thought Lina meant...well..euphemistic sword practice.

She unhooked her cloak slowly and and watched as Gourry tested the strength of the wooden practice swords. This time, she was the one who blushed and quickly finished shedding her cloak.

_"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very-"_

She quickly pushed Gourry's words out of her mind. She couldn't dwell on them at the moment, couldn't begin to fully reason out why he had blushed when she suggested that they spend their evening together. He was such a jellyfish at times. There were more important things at the moment.

Gourry walked over and handed her one of the wooden swords. For the first time, she noticed that he wasn't wearing his armor and pointed it out.

"Sword fighting's completely different when you're weighed down by armor," he replied as they moved into the center of the room. "The most likely scenario you'll be attacked, other than in battle, is by having someone sneak into your room at night. You want to be unhindered and move as fast as possible."  
_  
Spoken by one who saved my ass the last time that happened._ Lina frowned at the worry in his eyes and countered with a cheerful smile. If she was going to remain optimistic about this, he was going to as well - even if she had to beat it into him. "Well, let's get going so we can go teach Zuuma a thing or two."

On their way back to Radok's house earlier, Gourry had told Lina that she had a habit of dodging to the left when she was attacked in front, one that she needed to break herself of doing. It was a silent mantra that ran through her head as they faced off.

_Move to the right, move to the right, move to the right..._

Gourry came at her.

Lina moved to the left.

"Damn it!" she hissed as the sword smacked her right hip. The force behind the blow threw her back a few feet and she landed on her back, wheezing.

"Lina?" Gourry's worried face loomed over her. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she snapped. Ignoring his hand, she got to her feet. If she accepted his aid, if she allowed him to fret over her, then the practice would screech to a halt. It would be easy, too easy, to give up. But, she had to get better. She had to get stronger. She wouldn't be a burden to anyone and she _would_ prove herself.

Energy pumping through her body, Lina picked up her sword and spun around. "Let me attack you this time."

She charged, raising her sword up high to bring it smashing down on him. Gourry was good, but she was small and fast on her feet. She swung. At the last possible second, Gourry twisted, evading the attack. A moment later, his sword smashed into her back and she flew across the room once more, landing in heap near the armor rack.

He was going easy on her, this she knew. If she had been a real opponent and he'd been wielding the Sword of Light, there wouldn't be much left of her now. Lina rolled onto her back, wheezed once, then got back up.

They kept at it for two hours. More often than not, Lina would forget and instinctively move to her left. This was always met by a smash of the sword in her ribs and the nice, solid thud of her body landing on the solid floor. She was quite sure that there was now a Lina-shaped impression from where she landed so many times.

She couldn't land a hit on Gourry. Not a single one. The best she could say was that she had managed to elude one of his hits - mainly by tripping over her own feet and landing on the ground before he had a chance to do so himself. Sweat dripping, Lina laid on the floor and simply concentrated on breathing. Air. Sweet, clean air. So lovely. She never took the time to simply enjoy oxygen. Best of all, it was free and in plenty of supply.

Something pushed at her shoulder and she grunted. How _dare_ Gourry interrupt her bonding moment with her lungs.

"Lina, are you okay?" The pushing grew faster and became shaking. "You should had told me to stop for now. Are you okay? Lina?"

No. She was _not_ okay. She was quite sure that her hip was about the color of Zel's skin and would stay that way for a long time to come. Her muscles were starting to tense and...Lina squawked as she felt herself be rolled over. She did her best to glare up at Gourry and was alarmed when she could barely move her neck. This was not good.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

He ignored her, stripping off his gloves while humming under his breath. His hands settled on her shoulders and she nearly sprang off the ground in protest...or would have if she had been confident in her ability to move.

Then Gourry started kneading her shoulders.

That did it. Lina felt herself become a literal puddle right there on the floor. That had to be the most incredible sensation she had ever felt - even better than the time she fully completed the 12-course dinner at the largest restaurant in Atlas City. She sighed happily and knew she could quickly get used to it.

His hands moved down her arms, squeezing and massaging the bunched-up muscles. She started to drift off as her body relaxed and the throbbing diminished. In fact, it took her a few minutes before she realized that Gourry had been talking to her the entire time. With a great amount of effort, she turned her head to get a good look at his knees.

"What was that?" she slurred.

He didn't bat an eye. "You're going to have to get into a hot bath. It'll help ease the pain some."

"You're doing a damn fine job here."

"This isn't going to last for long." He gave her a look that caused the pleasant lethargy to drain completely.

Lina had a feeling she was not going to like his next words.

"You weren't going to be able to get back to the house in the condition you're in. The massage will help you walk that far, but you're going to need to soak and sleep the rest of it off."

Lina groaned. She had the sinking sensation that Gourry was speaking from experience - plenty of it.

All too soon, he stopped kneading her arms and switched his grip. He got back to his feet, helping her up. Her legs buckled, but she forced herself to remain upright. "You should had done my legs while you were at it," she muttered.

"I could have..." His voice trailed off and their eyes locked. They held their gaze for a moment before she blinked and looked away, Xelloss' little statement about sword practice echoing in her mind again. Using the last of her strength, Lina shoved Gourry away from her. He managed to catch hold of the wall and didn't fall over.

They stared at each other for a second longer, then Lina headed back to Radok's house.

But she was smiling.


	6. And Yes, the Way You Look at Me

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Author's Note:** This story was written for Rocky, who provided the inspiration on how to approach this theme.

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Story #6: "And Yes, the Way You Look at Me"

It wasn't that uncommon for Lina's physical attributes (or lack thereof) to be the subject of scrutiny by various bandits, unsuspecting glory seekers and a jellyfish with a huge mouth that happened to be her own partner.

And Lina had tried to do something about it. Magical hot springs, spells, potions, salves. If someone named it, she probably tried it. By the time she turned 19 and had saved the world more than a few times, she realized the one battle she was always going to lose was the one with her own body.

For the most part, having small breasts didn't annoy Lina...much. It added to her cuteness. She was a small, perfectly proportioned package - or so she liked to think. So what if she didn't have a chest the size of Amelia's, Sylphiel's or...Naga's. Okay, no one would want Naga's chest, Lina conceded. That could be too much of a good thing.

But there were times that it did matter, especially when Gourry made it a constant habit to comment on how small they were. Of course they were small - compared to their other female friends, the average barmaid and the overweight guy sitting at the next table. It didn't mean that Gourry had to keep reminding Lina about them! She woke up with them every day and went to bed with them every night. She was well aware of that fact.

In Midas, the town still recovering from the horrific attack of Naga and her 10 clones five years earlier, Lina spoke with a healer that she had become acquainted with during her previous stay.

The woman had listened to her problem and gave her a warm smile. "There is a guarenteed method of enlarging your breasts," she informed her.

Lina leaned forward, eyes shining. "And that is?"

The healer's gaze flicked to the window, where Gourry stood outside gazing absently at the sky. She gave Lina a knowing smile. "Have that swordsman of yours get you pregnant."

-----

"Did you really have to destroy half of that town?" Gourry looked back over his shoulder at the smoking remains of the healer's house.

"She deserved it," Lina growled as she stomped down the road next to him. Her hands clenched into fists. "Believe me, I was being kind when I only unleashed a half-power Dil Brando. How _dare_ she suggest something like that to me!"

"Suggest what?" Gourry gave Lina an innocent look. She nearly snapped back at him before remember just who she was addressing. Instead, she focused her attention on the road ahead of them.

"Suggest what?" he asked again.

_Of all the times, why does Gourry have to be persistent now?_ Lina snorted. "Nothing. She suggested absolutely nothing that would help me any."

"Help you with what?"

"Avoid jellyfish that play 20 questions." Lina gave him a cross look. "It's none of your business, okay?"

Gourry came to a stop and rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a minute or so. He gave Lina a once-over, then nodded seriously. "Oh, I see. You're right, there's nothing that can be done."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Nothing that can be done about _what_?"

Gourry approached her, blissfully unaware of his own peril. "With this," he said fondly, patting Lina's breasts. "I mean, they are flat and at your age, you're not going to grow much more and..."

He didn't get a chance to finish. With a scream of pure frustration, Lina grabbed Gourry's arm and flipped him, throwing him a few feet in the process. She stomped to his side, hands clenched into fists by her side. Her hand snapped out and she hauled him up to where they were nearly nose to nose.

"Do you want to know what she said?" Lina demanded. "That oh-so-_helpful_ healer said that my breasts will grow if _you_ get _me _pregnant!"

She had the satisfaction of seeing Gourry's face go chalk white, pretty much her own reaction when the same suggestion had been made. She let him go and continued down the road, feeling much better. It was pretty apparent, he thought the idea was ludicrous as well. The two of them having sex. Somehow, that just seemed so odd, despite all the innuendo thrown at both of them over the years.

She'd gone about 20 paces when she realized Gourry wasn't following her. Thinking maybe she had thrown him a bit too hard, Lina turned back and nearly jumped when she saw Gourry still sitting where she had thrown him, giving her an unreadable expression that she had seen several times before - mainly when their lives had been in mortal peril.

Lately, she noticed he'd been giving it to her during other times as well.

But that was a stupid thought. Gourry _never_ complemented her in the way that a man would complement a woman. Hell, even Xelloss had done more of that sort of thing and he was a Mazoku!

She shifted nervously, not liking this growing feeling of not being in control. She was Lina Inverse. Control was always within her grasp. She never had it growing up, no thanks to Luna. She wasn't about to lose it now because her jellyfish had decided to go all weird on her due to a stupid healer's flip remark about the presumed status of their relationship. So there.

"Come on, Gourry," Lina whirled around and started to walk away. When she didn't hear him getting to his feet, she sighed. "Look, we both know that you don't see me in that sort of way, so just get over it. It's going to be dark soon and I'm hungry."

She'd barely taken another step when she managed to hear his hoarse whisper. "Maybe I do see you in that way."

Lina's face went blank. _No. I couldn't have possibly heard..._

She forced herself to turn around. She summoned every last bit of willpower that she had to make herself perform the required steps to look at Gourry. He was back on his feet and before she could say anything, he briskly walked by her and headed down the road. "Come on," he called. "I'm starving!"

Her fingers twitched and she gave him a slightly dazed look. It took her a moment to remember that she had a mouth, quite a big one at that, and that she did know how to use it. She marched up to him. "Now, wait a minute, I heard that! What do you mean you see me in _that way_? Aren't you always commenting that I have a pancake chest?"

"Well, you do," Gourry replied honestly. He gave her an innocent look. "You do have a flat chest."

Before Lina could ready a roundhouse punch, his cheeks reddened. "But it doesn't mean I don't see you in that way," he hastily added and continued down the road.

She stared after him, eyes wide with astonishment. She glanced down at her hands, then her feet, at Gourry, then at her hands again. She worked her throat and remembered some of the forbidden things that her mind presented to her at night that she mostly managed to forget by morning. Taking a deep breath, Lina caught up to Gourry and slid her hand into his. He glanced down at her in surprise and she gave him a small smile.

_Maybe I see you in that way too._


	7. Snow Falling on Corpses

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This story takes place at the beginning of episode 23 of Slayers TRY. During the actual scene, Lina and Gourry are standing together and they don't say anything until right before Amelia and Zel join them. This takes place in the few moments leading up to the first shot of Lina kneeling.

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Story #7: "Snow Falling on Corpses"

The wind whipped and tugged at her cloak, the wind stinging her cheeks as if someone was throwing little needles against them. Shock, bone deep, settled as she surveyed the remains of the battlefield and the slaughter of dozens of golden dragons - the last of those who worshipped Flarelord in the lands beyond the Mazoku barrier.

She turned to the last of them, the one who had caused all of the trouble to begin with - Almayce. Lina knelt before him, trying to think through everything - through the Overworlders slaughter of the golden dragons, the retrieval of the final Darkstar weapon and Xelloss subsequently snatching it away from her.

It would be so easy to blame everything on Almayce. His appearance in their world had been the catalyst that sparked this entire mission. It wasn't fair though. Everyone had their own role to play in this mess, including her own sister for making her take this on her shoulders.

Someone shifted next to her, blocking some of the window. She didn't need to look up to realize it was Gourry. She smelled him. Not in a bad way, but a combination of sweat, the oil he used to keep his armor and sword in shape and his own scent. She took a deep breath and felt her own nerves start to settle slightly.

In the distance, she heard sniffling. Amelia, she realized. Tears clogged her own throat, but for some reason, she didn't think she had the ability to cry. When Hellmaster Phibrizzo revived the citzens of Sairaag to do his bidding, she'd been stunned. When she, Sylphiel and Zangulus saw them trapped in the same crystal that Gourry and the others would later be imprisoned in, she'd been horrified. When she thought she had killed a child, she had screamed and cried.

Now, she just felt numb.

She closed her eyes and tried to wipe the scene from her vision, but couldn't. It seemed like it was burned onto the back of her eyelids.

"Did I fail?"

Gourry startled and glanced down at her. He heard the regret and the guilt in her voice and shifted closer to her. "No," he replied quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Is this what you felt, when you were a mercenary?" She kept her focus on Almayce's corpse and the snow that had fallen on it and the other remains surrounding them. "Did you ever look at a battlefield of bodies and just feel dead inside?"

Yes, he replied to himself. He had. When he did, he'd been stunned and ashamed that he lost his ability to simply care. People had lost their lives, including his comrades. Wasn't he suppose to feel some compassion for the fallen? They had relatives who would mourn their loss.

But even this was different. Gourry didn't pay much attention to his education, but he knew of the term "genocide" and what it implied. When the truth of what happened between the golden and Ancient dragons were revealed, it had been used. It was one thing, being on a common battlefield. It was another to see an entire race be wiped out.

"How many are left?" he asked. "Golden dragons, that is?"

"As far as I know, only Milgasia's tribe. And they were greatly reduced during the Kouma Sensou. Of course, there could be more on there, but in this part of the world...only Filia is left."

Lina wanted to smash the ground as hard as she could. She wanted to destroy something - Xelloss specifically. She wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and strangle the life out of him for refusing to accept the help offered and for causing all of this.

In the distance, she heard Amelia chanting a spell. As her magic spread out, the corpses turned to stone and blended in with the scenery. Eventually, they would become part of the landscape and not many would remember what happened.

"This has happened too many times," she said in a soft voice. "Xelloss destroying most of the golden dragons during the Kouma Sensou and then the golden dragons destroying the Ancient Dragons. Now this. I couldn't do anything to stop him, Gourry. I just _stood_ there!"

"What were you suppose to do?" He demanded, frustrated himself. "Get yourself killed? Lina, they were outnumbered and so were we. He'd turn on us in a heartbeat and then what would happen?"

She didn't say anything, because he was right.

"That one we talked to, the one Amelia tried to heal," Gourry continued, "he said he had a duty to the Elder and to his temple to get this job done, even if he died trying. He's a soldier, Lina. He knew the risks going in."

She startled and looked up at him, then back at Almayce. She couldn't say anything to refute it because she had said the same thing herself. She knew the risks in taking in Shabranigdu, Copy Rezo and Zanaffar, Mazenda, Seigram, Gaav and Philbrizzo. She knew the risks she was taking every time she lifted her arms to cast a Giga Slave. In many ways, these golden dragons were no different from herself.

"We are going to get those weapons and beat him," Lina said with such utter conviction that Gourry nodded in agreement immediately.

Her gaze shifted to the sky. "But even when we do, I've still failed Filia and her people. I was suppose to keep this from happening. I've caused my fair share of destruction, but I never wanted this. It's like watching Copy Rezo destroy Sairaag all over again. Why did this have to happen?"

Gourry frowned as he mulled things over. "Well, I look at it this way - that Copy Rezo guy would had still destroyed Sairaag even if we hadn't been there. Valgaav would had wanted to kill the golden dragons, even if we hadn't been here. The only thing we can do now is to finish what we came to do."

Resolve boosted, Lina leveled her eyes with his. "Then that's what we're going to do."


	8. The Blind Leading the Blind

**Disclaimer: **Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This story takes place after the werewolf story in the one-shot Araizumi manga. Throughout the entire manga, Lina and Gourry are a lot more suggestive about things than they are in the anime and it leads to some great tension between the two of them. This story was written in that spirit.

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Story # 8: The Blind Leading the Blind

When it came to ideas, Gourry knew that Lina had some pretty strange ones. Many of the quests they went on seemed more like wild goose chases to him - looking for some obscure treasure or being roped into becoming bodyguards for some of the strangest people he'd ever seen. But this made her happy and he didn't dare question her happiness.

If Lina was happy, so was he.

Even so, he still found her latest idea just a little hard to stomach.

"You want us to do_ what_?" he asked in an incredulous voice, not quite sure he had heard her right.

Lina scowled at him over their dinner. They had arrived in Lydas in the Alliance of Costal States just an hour earlier and their first order of business was obtaining lots of food and a warm place to sleep for the night. "Shut up, jellyfish," she seethed. "Do you want everyone in town to hear our plans?"

"They're not my plans! They're_ your_ plans. I think you're insane!"

Lina grumbled at him. With yogurt for brains half the time, Gourry was the one who needed his sanity questioned. She speared the last of her porkchop and waved it at him. "It's not a bad idea! Think about it, if we succeed, it could bring in a lot of money."

"But you want us to hunt vampires?" Gourry swallowed nervously, his own meal forgotten. "I mean, I know we've hunted werewolves but...Lina, those things aren't even real! It's just a myth."

"Do you even know what a myth is?"

"Yes!"

"Oh." Lina stuck her fork in her mouth and chewed on the meat thoughtfully. She swallowed, then reached for her cloak, which hung on the back of her chair. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and passed it across the table to him. "I saw that while you were in the bathroom. Take a look."

Gourry unfolded it and saw that it was a simple-looking wanted poster. There was a description about a series of crimes that involved several wealthy business owners in the town being killed in the middle of the night. Any information leading to the capture of this killer or killers would result in a 50 gold finder's fee. The person to bring in the killer(s) would receive 500 gold. He gave a low whistle at the last number and looked up to see Lina's eyes shining at him.

"See?" she asked, almost bouncing off her chair with excitement. Gourry almost grinned at the sight, but it still didn't make him feel any better. If anything, he was even more convinced that perhaps Lina had taken one too many spills during a battle.

"Yes and no." He folded up the poster and gave it back. "It says that a bunch of rich men are being killed. It does not say anything about vampires."

"I spoke with the town's mayor when I saw the poster. You take an awful long time in the bathroom."

"I do not!" Gourry insisted, blushing. "Lina, you shouldn't be discussing stuff like that."

"Oh?" Lina gave him a saucy grin. "Then why are you blushing?"

He glowered at her and turned his focus back to the remainder of his meal. Lina leaned forward, their current mission pushed aside for the moment. She really meant it as an offhand comment, but Gourry's reaction was just too interesting to ignore. She might be a maiden, but she wasn't ignorant. She knew what men - and women - did upon occasion when they had a chance to be alone.

"You know," she said in a low, serious voice, "they say if you do that sort of thing, you'll go blind."

Gourry's fork dropped to his plate as he gawked at her, horrified. "Lina!" he gasped.

"Shut up!" she hissed back at him as patrons from several other tables turned their attention to them to see if they could hear the brewing fight. "Unless you want this to become a public matter!"

"This isn't any sort of matter at all! It's none of your business to speculate on how much time I spend in private and what I do in there!"

This was just getting better and better. Lina gave him the most sickening sweet smile she had in her arsenal. "For someone who's trying to deny he engages in certain activities, you're being awfully loud about it. I'm just giving you a warning, that's all. Buddy to buddy." She waved the wanted poster at him. "Now, about those vampires..."

Gourry cradled his now-aching head in one hand. "Lina, there's no such things as vampires and you can't go blind if you masturba..." He hastily cut off, snapping his head up in the process, his face nearly as dark as her hair. Lina blinked at him in surprised, amazed that not only was he about to blurt the specifics, but...

More curious now than ever, she leaned in a little. "Are you admitting to doing it?" she asked in a half-mockingly, half-seriously voice.

He bit his lip, hard. This was quickly crossing into the realms of dangerous conversation topics, especially with best friends that he occasionally...okay, frequently had some interesting thoughts about. He picked up his fork, took another bite of food and chewed carefully, weighing his answer. He studied Lina as he did so, realization dawning on him.

He swallowed and grinned. "Are_ you_ admitting to doing it?"

Her reaction was just as expected. Her eyes went wide with horror and she blushed before staring down at her plate, fighting to come up with a decent answer. He had meant it as a joke, but her non-verbal response caused his pulse to start racing and forbidden images to flood his mind. His smile died as she looked back up at him and he stared at her with such intensity she thought she was either going to scream, hit him, reach across the table and kiss the daylights out of him or do a combination of all of the above.

A man jostled the back of Lina's chair as he walked past, snapping both of them from their daze. They exchanged embarrassed looks and stared at their plates, wondering what to do or say next.

"So...," Gourry ventured carefully. "We're hunting vampires, right?"

"Right. Vampires." Lina picked up the poster again. "When I was speaking to the mayor while you were ... occupied ...he told me that they can't detect a cause of death other than the blood being drained from their bodies and two puncture wounds on their necks. Therefore, they think it's a vampire."

"Right." Gourry shuffled the plates around until he found the bread basket. Much to his delight, there was still a roll in it. "So, how do we hunt vampires?"

"Beats the hell out of me." Lina grabbed the roll before he could.

"Well, there's stakes, garlic..."

She rolled her eyes. "Gourry..."

"What?" He gave her an innocent look and she snorted. "Okay, so what do you plan to do?"

"I'll think of something." Lina took a bite out of the roll.

He grinned. "So, in other words, you don't know what you're doing at all. It's like the blind leading the blind!"

Lina growled and smacked Gourry's face with the roll.

-----

_Was Gourry doing what Lina thinks he was doing? What is killing the wealthy townsmen of Lydas? And just how in the world does one hunt a vampire to begin with, especially if you're a sorceress and a swordsman? Find out in Story #9 - "Four Twelves are Forty-Eight"!_


	9. Four Twelves are Forty Eight

**Disclaimer**: "Slayers" is not owned by me, but by Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.

**Note**: This story is the sequel to story #8: "The Blind Leading the Blind"

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Story #9: "Four Twelves are Forty Eight"

Those who knew Lina and Gourry would comment that out of the two, Lina was the one who normally showed any initative. She was the one who decided where to go, what to do, and he was more than happy to let her take the lead. He was simply happy to be by her side.

But after their meal, it was Gourry who dragged Lina to the nearest bookstore, determined to find any and everything about hunting vampires. After all, he reasoned, it was her job as her protector to prevent her from being bitten by one of those things. Look what happened when they tried to hunt werewolves!

Lina viewed this all with much amusement and a hint of annoyance. Once the shock of Gourry taking the initiative to dive into a pile of books passed, she stood with her hands on her hips as he went through shelf after shelf of material dedicated to the paranormal. Nevermind that she had been planning to do this initially. It was _Gourry_ suddenly taking charge. And surely this was upsetting the natural order of things!

"Hey, Lina, what about this?" Gourry turned to her, a thin volume in his hands. She smirked at the title. _Vampire Hunting for the Dim-Witted_. "This one seems pretty simple."

"Why, because it's illustrated?" She snatched volume away from him and glanced up in surprise when she saw him handing the book seller a few silver coins. "Who said we were getting this?"

"My money, my book." Gourry relieved Lina of the tome and gave her a serious look. "I'm not going to have some vampire sucking all your blood out. As your protector, I can't allow that to happen."

Lina flushed and tried to ignore her suddenly racing heart. "G...Gourry. That's rather sweet."

"Besides, if you become immortal, it'll ruin any chances of you actually growing breasts," he added, flipping through the book again."

Lina kicked him out the door, where he landed in a heap of armor in the middle of a pile of horse dung. "Idiot!" she screeched, then stormed back to the hotel.

-----

**Vampire Hunting Rule #1: "Always Hunt Your Prey at Night"**

"Lina?"

She mumbled something in response and turned onto her side away from whoever was trying to shake her awake. Said person was going to get a fireball up his or her ass if they didn't stop it immediately.

"Lina, wake up!" The voice was persistent and the shaking increased.

She rolled onto her back, cracked one eye open, then bolted up, bashing Gourry's forehead in the process. The jolt sent her falling back to the mattress and him landing on the the floor.

"Oww," he groaned, rubbing his rear. "Lina, why didn't you warn me?"

"You? Why didn't you warn _me_? Do you know what time it is?"

He grinned. "Half-past one!"

Lina narrowed her eyes dangerously at him as a quick glance at the clock confirmed his statement. "One? As in one in the morning?"

"Well, the book says...," Gourry's voice was cut off as Lina grabbed him by the neck of his shirt.

"Screw the book! The book doesn't have to deal with me. Do you hear me? I. Am. Not. Doing. This! A girl needs her beauty sleep!" She yelled, giving him a little shake with each word. She let him drop back to the floor.

Gourry watched as Lina ranted. He rubbed the top of his head absently. "But I thought you wanted the reward money. Don't we go hunting bandits at night?"

He had a point. Lina glowered at him. "This is different."

"How so? Is it different because I woke you up?"

"Yes!" Lina pouted slightly. She was losing control of this operation fast. "Well, I'm up now, so we might as well go looking for the chumps. If you don't get out of here and let me get dressed, I'm fireballing your ass to the next town."

-----

**Vampire Hunting Rule #2: "Be Sure To Carry Your Vampire-Hunting Tools"**

"Our vampire-hunting _what_?"

Gourry peered at Lina over the edge of his book and...did he just roll his eyes at her? She gritted her teeth and willed herself not to throttle him.

"Every good vampire hunter needs a complete set of tools," Gourry informed her and gestured to his bed. She walked over and saw several items lying on the quilt.

"You're still reading that book?"

Gourry nodded and turned a page. "It's pretty neat. The rules are interesting."

"Just how many are there anyhow?"

He flipped back to the table of contents. "Um...four sections with 12 rules each. So there's um...," his forehead wrinkled in concentration. "Four times 12 is um...one, two, three..."

"Gourry..."

"Forty eight!" He beamed at her.

"Very good, jellyfish." Lina rolled her eyes and surveyed the the contents of their so-called vampire hunting kit.

"Let's see...cloves of garlic, a stake, a vial, a silver dag...hey, that's my dagger!" Lina snatched up the weapon. "Where did you get this?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her an innocent look. "Oh, I got it out of your stuff when you were in the bath."

Lina went red as the thought of Gourry pawing through her things came to mind. Not just her clothes...her _underwear_ as well. She stalked toward him, death in her eyes.

Gourry glanced up at her, then quickly did a double-take. He dropped the book and scooted back against the wall as fast as he could as she shoved the dagger beneath his chin. "You...you went through my things!"

"Li...Lina!" he squeaked, his voice rising about two octaves. "It's not like I actually saw anything! Your belt was lying right on top!"

She growled at him.

"I swear, I didn't see that you wear pink lace panties!"

"_Gourry!_"

By this point, most people would realize that their life was flashing before their eyes. But Gourry had one too many brushes with death to even be bothered with the fleeting sensation. "But I did want to know...why don't you wear a bra? Then again, I guess they don't make them for someone that small, do they?"

"BURST RONDO!"

-----

**Vampire Hunting Rule #3: "When Hunting Your Prey, Use Stealth to Your Advantage"**

Well, now they had no choice but to go chase after the vampires. Lina glanced over her shoulder at the smouldering remains of the inn's second floor and gritted her teeth. This was all Gourry's fault. Every single bit of it. Now she needed to go pluck him out of whatever trash heap he was blasted into and find the vampire. Either they had to high-tail it out of town and hope that the angry villagers would catch them or use the reward money from capturing the vampires to pay for the damages. The thought of having to turn over all of that money made her feel a little sick to her stomach.

"This is all Gourry's fault," she muttered aloud, kicking at a rock. "Stupid jellyfish. Can't he keep his paws off of my things?"

_You're just regretting that he didn't see you wearing just your underwear_, a small voice in the back of her head said.

"Oh, would you shut up?" Lina seethed, then froze. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she squinted into the darkness. She brushed back her cloak, exposing the hilt of her short sword. Whoever was watching her would recognized that she was armed. She slowly turned, taking in everything.

The wind rustled and Lina whipped around, drawing her sword as she did so. Nothing was there. She hesitated, then relaxed slightly. It was just her imagination. Hell, it was probably just Gourry, stumbling back from whereever she had blown him to. She waited a moment, then started walking again.

"Gourry?" Lina's eyes swept over broken crates, piles of garbage and empty street stalls.

She noticed a black shadow out of the corner of her eyes and quickly jammed her sword back in her sheath. "Freeze Arrow" she yelled as she sent three arrows of ice at the shadow.

The shadow disappeared, then reappeared a short distance away holding something in its arms. Lina's eyes widened with shock at the limp person clad in blue wearing black armor.

"Gourry!"

The shadow chuckled. "I had a feeling you knew this man, Lina Inverse!"

Lina growled and considered her options. She couldn't attack the shadow with any sort of spell and not hurt Gourry in the process. "Put him down, whatever you are."

"In good time, in good time," the shadow replied good-naturely. "I'm not finished with him yet."

Lina paled as the shadow bent over Gourry's neck. Was this the vampire that was rumored to kill all those townsmen? She drew back, her hand brushing against the sack full of supplies she'd grabbed off Gourry's bed when she left the inn. She'd been intending to throw them in his face.

Wait a minute. _Throw!_ A smile tugged at the corner of Lina's lips.

----

**Vampire Hunting Rule #4: "It Would Help if You Actually Use the Items, You Know..."**

Lina scooted back slightly and yanked out one of the cloves of garlic and her dagger. She quickly sliced the garlic in half, reared back, then tossed both halves in the vampire's face. Both watched as the pungent pieces smacked him on the nose, then dropped down into Gourry's lap.

They stared at the garlic in mutual shock. The vampire flicked her an impatient glare. "What was that?"

She swallowed. "You're not a vampire?"

"What makes you think I'm a vampire?"

Lina jabbed her finger at it. "Haven't you been killing the townspeople and drinking their blood?"

"What would a Mazoku want with a filthy human's blood?"

Well, that took care of that little issue. She knew how to fight him now, hopefully without incurring too much damage to Gourry in the process. "Then what's with the drained blood and the two pin pricks on the neck?"

The Mazoku smirked and it hit Lina. Of course, it had to be fear! The idiots who got killed probably didn't realize the difference between a real vampire and a Mazoku. If the Mazoku pierced their throats over their pulses and allowed them to bleed to death, they'd be terrified. It'd be like feasting on a seven-course banquet. The Mazoku bent over Gourry's neck once more and she growled. Only _she _was allowed to do anything to him!

"Elmekia Lance!" Lina yelled, sending the bolt straight at the Mazoku.

It glanced up in surprise, then shrieked as the spell took its head off. The rest of the body dissolved and Gourry fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Gourry!" Lina raced to his side, her anger forgotten as she lifted his upper body and cradled him carefully. Other than the lump on the side of his head, he appeared fine. She pressed her hand to the injury and channeled a Recovery spell into it The wound shrank and disappeared. Absently, she ran her hand through his bangs and hoped that the Mazoku hadn't done anything to him.

He stirred beneath her hands and when she looked down, she saw brilliant blue eyes blinking up at her. She exhaled in relief. "Morning, sunshine," she chirped, throwing back the phrase he often greeted her with when she woke up after being knocked out. "Sleep well?"

Gourry didn't know how to respond. This almost-gentle Lina seemed like something crafted from one of his dreams. His last clear memory was of her throwing a fit because he'd seen her clothes while she was in the bath. He took in their surroundings and noticed they were out in the middle of the street, the smouldering inn was some distance away and his head was in her lap.

"I must be dreaming," he muttered and missed her amused glance. There one way to find out if he was.

He reached up and cupped Lina's breast.

"Still small...," he mused, squeezing lightly then beamed. "It's not a dream!"

Lina froze, her hands clenched into fists as he absently kept exploring her chest. "Get your brain out of your pants, idiot!" she shrieked and shoved Gourry off her lap. His head hit the cobblestone street with a loud crack and he promptly passed out again.

-----

**Author's Note:** So...what was Gourry doing in the bathroom in the last chapter? Just doing what people normally do when they've been traveling all day. Lina was just very fast in piecing together what was going on. What...you didn't think he was doing _that_, did you? Well...


	10. One True Thing

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes: **This story is set at the end of vol. 5 and the beginning of vol. 6 in the manga series "Slayers: Knight of Aqualord." It recaps the events that take place during volume 5. The two main characters referred to here are Oren, a young priestess helping Lina and her friends reach the Tower of Wind, and Shizuri, an illusionist who accompanies Lina's party (which is Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Lyos, the Knight of Aqualord) so they can obtain a new power for Lina. 95 percent of the spoken dialogue comes from the manga.

-----

Story #10: One True Thing

Amelia felt like she was floating. She wasn't suppose to be feeling this way, not at this particular moment in time. But she couldn't help it. She kept replaying the events from the past two hours in her mind over and over, growing more giddy each time she hit the climax of those moments.

-----

Damu Brass!"

Lina blew apart the monster that was about to kill Oren. She stood, hands clasped over her mouth as everything started to sink in. This really was evil. The strange sorceress from far away was right.

Before she could process it any further, Lina whirled around. "Everyone! Get inside that building!" she yelled and took off running.

Gourry was on her heels. "Lina, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she yelled over her shoulder. "The Mazoku won't go in that building."

He got the message and sped ahead to make sure there was nothing inside. Shizuri, Amelia and Oren followed. Lina was nearly to the doorway when she heard a loud explosion behind her. Something slammed into her back and she flew into the building, propelled by the blast. She landed hard on her shoulder as pain lanced through her back.

"Lina!"

"Lina-san!"

Lina struggled to get up. She gritted her teeth, willing herself to work past the pain. Before she could manage it, a pair of strong hands grasped hold of her and turned her face up. She found herself staring into Gourry's pale, anxious face as he supported her upper body in his lap.

Gourry ran his hand down her back and quickly drew it away, eyes widening when he saw that both his glove and hand was saturated with her blood. Amelia sucked in a quick breath when he held it up. "Lina-san!" she cried.

Lina tried her best to give them a thumbs up sign. The best she could come up with was a wave and a wink. "I'm...I'm okay," she rasped. "It's nothing."

"It's not just nothing," Amelia retorted as she knelt by Lina's other side. "Resurrection!"

Amelia fought back her panic as she channeled her spell into Lina's body. She tried not to notice Gourry's shaking hands or his eyes growing bright with unshed tears. She did her best to hold back her own. Would it be enough?

She startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "May I intrude, please?" Oren asked in a quiet voice.

Amelia almost shouted a denial, but Lina was already looking stronger. Gourry's grip on her tightened as he helped her to sit up so they could hear what Oren had to say.

Oren revealed to the group that she could use the power of the gods to heal Lina's wounds and that both she and her twin, Fanan, were shrine maidens who served the gods. When she was done, Lina glanced at both Gourry and Amelia. They were her oldest friends. They would understand. She nodded her ascent to them.

Amelia got to her feet and placed her hand on Gourry's shoulder. Without saying a word, he gently placed Lina back on the ground, his hand lingering on top of her head. Then they retreated to a safe distance and put their trust in Oren.

It hadn't been misplaced. Oren cured Lina, but lost much of her own strength in the process. Oren told them about the Tower of Wind and how she realized now that the war between the humans and the Mazoku was coming. Oren told them that she believed she could place their faith in them and would send them to the Tower of Wind.

Before they could leave, a man from Oren's village had come running into the building, telling them of an impending attack.

Oren's face paled as she listened. Then she turned away from them. "I can't go back to the village," she whispered.

"Oren!" Lina gasped with the villagers crying out as well.

"Right now, my duty is to take Lina-san and her friends to the Tower of Wind," Oren explained, unable to meet the shocked looks on her peers' faces. "They have the power to prevent the war between the Mazoku and the humans."

_Oren..._ A lump formed in Lina's throat as Oren explained her duties and the sacrifice she had to make in order to send them to the Tower. It was a brutal choice - saving her people versus saving the world. Guilt welled up inside her at the decision she was forcing Oren to make by her showing up here. She glanced over at Shizuri and Amelia. Shizuri, who was in service to a priest of Aqualord and Amelia, one of the crown princesses of Saillune. They knew what Oren was struggling with.

"Wait just a minute," said a voice from the back of the group. "I'm going to return to the village."

They all pivoted and gawked at the calm swordsman who stood smiling at the group, one hand resting on his thigh guard.

"Gourry?" Lina gawked.

"I won't be of much use when you go to that Tower of Wind," he explained. "But I can help out with fighting monsters back there, can't I?"

Amelia's eyes widened as Shizuri immediately volunteered to defend the village as well. Gourry was right. It was useless for them all to go when Lina was really the only one who needed, or who would be able to handle, the power. "Of course," she exclaimed. "I'm going too. Justice demands that I go save the village from monsters as well."

Lina beamed at her. "Amelia!"

Oren clasped her hands together as it sunk in. This sorceress...her friends were willing to put their lives on the line to save her village. She blinked and was stunned to find tears rolling down her cheeks. She clasped her hands to her mouth, trying to hold back her sobs.

It didn't work. "Tha...," she tried, then took a deep breath. "Thank you so very much!"

Amelia and Shizuri moved toward Oren. Amelia patted her back and was about to whisper some words of comfort when she heard Gourry say Lina's name. She glanced up in time to see the swordsman walking over to Lina.

The calm, happy expression was replaced with worry. "I'm sorry I can't go to that Tower with you," he said in a serious tone. "As your guardian, I'm suppose to remain by your side and protect you, but I can't this time."

Amelia clasped a hand over her mouth and shot a look at Shizuri. She was giving the couple a knowing smile and winked back at Amelia.

Lina blushed, but was a bit annoyed as well. This was a classic guilt trip for Gourry if there ever was one. Why on earth would he even begin to think that she would believe he abandoned her because he chose to stay behind? It was a brave, noble thing he was doing. "What do you think you're..."

"When you obtain the god's power," Gourry interrupted, placing his hands on Lina's shoulders. "Please come back safely. I'll be waiting for you in the village."

The blush on Lina's face deepened. She opened her mouth, but could barely make a sound.

Amelia was speechless as well.

Shizuri grinned wickedly.

He gently squeezed her shoulder. "Don't be rash," he advised.

_Gourry..._ Lina stepped closer to him, allowing him to draw her into a hug and let his warmth push back everything for a few moments. Suddenly, there was nothing more she wanted to do but to stay here like this. She gripped his forearm tightly as the warmth left her feeling both a bit breathless and powerful. _Is this...are we really falling..._

Before she could consider it any further, she drew away from him. Their eyes met and held. They knew what she had to do.

-----

"Did you feel something just now?"

Gourry's voice shook Amelia out of her thoughts and she scanned the building. "No, not a thing," she replied.

He frowned. "It must be my imagination." _Lina...please be safe!_

Then all hell broke loose.

-----

Much later, they had their gaze locked on the sky as bright flashes of light darted around. Amelia shielded her eyes and said every quick prayer she could think of.

"Lina-san's not using the god's power against the Mazoku," she commented to Gourry. "I know she doesn't want to hurt Lyos-san, but what more can she do?"

"It's not just that," he replied. "I'm not surprised she's hesitating at using the god's power with Lyos up there, but I'm guessing there's another reason. You know the god's power is extremely powerful, even if just one person uses it. If she uses it, she'll destroy everything around her and we're near the battlefield. That's why Lina won't use it."

Amelia lowered her hand and gave Gourry an appraising look. _Wouldn't Zelgadiss-san be amused_, she thought as he seriously watched the battle. In many ways, it was a very un-Gourry-like thing for him to say. Most magical discussions went over his head. But he was also a brilliant tactician. If he was approaching this the way that a soldier would approach using a weapon, then that's how he got it.

But there's more than that, Amelia realized, remembering past fights when Lina and Gourry seemed to read each other's minds. Pride and joy mixed with a bit of jealously. She wanted to have a connection that deeply with someone.

She turned her focus back to the battle. "I hope she'll be okay."

"I know she'll be," Gourry said confidently. He grinned at Amelia. "There's one true thing about Lina. When she promises to come back, she'll come back, no matter what."

_That's because she has you to come back to._ Amelia smiled warmly and took a step closer to him. "There's one other true thing as well," she mummered just loud enough for him to hear. "You two love each other."

Gourry went red, but didn't say a word. But Amelia swore she saw a slight nod in response.


	11. Your Pretty Blue Eyes

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This story takes place right before Lina receives the letter from Filia in episode 1 of Slayers TRY.

-----

Story #11: "Your Pretty Blue Eyes are Just Stained Glass"

_They stretched side by side on the blanket spread a few feet from the creek, the remains of a picnic lunch spilling out of an overturned basket. For the moment, they were both sated and content to simply watch the clouds lazily drift in the sky._

_He turned his head and suddenly found it hard to breathe. It was moments like these, watching his best friend relaxed and almost asleep, that he remembered just how beautiful she was. Sure, her chest was flat and he was pretty sure he'd seen wresters with more to offer than she did, but she made up for it in other ways. _

_Her hair spilled around her in a pool of brilliant red. She had developed some curves in the time they'd been together, as if her body had decided to prove that she really was a female. For him, her best feature was her eyes. They were closed at the moment, but when she was awake, they normally sparkled with life and a range of emotions from absolute glee to being absolutely pissed off. She never did anything with half measures._

_Watching her as she dozed, he unlocked the desire he kept hidden deep in his heart and allowed it to blossom._

_Sometimes, he had a fleeting impression that he'd felt her lips under his in a kiss before. But that had surely been a dream. What would it be like if he kissed her now? Would she be scared? Would she return it? Would she scream, knee him in the groin and toss him in the creek? _

_Without fulling realizing it, he scooted closer until they were almost touching, then turned onto his side. The desire grew as he realized that from this angle, she did have enough of a chest for his body to physically react as his eyes moved slowly over her figure. Then again, he realized, it was probably the desire making its wishes known. He'd never really indulged in it before._

_But with everything they'd recently been through, maybe he needed to indulge in it._

_He reached out, wrapped a tendril of her hair around his index finger. It was soft and clean. She'd had a bath before they left the inn that morning. He allowed the hair to slip from his fingers as he moved to her face, lightly touching her cheek. He was in dangerous territory, but he no longer cared. The desire and the love he kept hidden away for this woman had now fully taken over and it wasn't going to back down this time._

_He shifted until he partly rested on her body and didn't stop to think as his lips gently touched hers. If he started thinking, he'd back away. He didn't want to do so. He wanted to show her his feelings for her, how a part of him had died inside when he realized she had made the ultimate sacrifice for him. _

_He knew the moment she woke up, the surprise as she braced and realized she was being kissed. He refused to back off. He pressed a little harder and changed the angle of the kiss, hoping to take it a bit deeper. When her body sagged and her arms came around him, he nearly crowed in triumph. She wasn't going to shove him away. Maybe his desire was rubbing off on her._

_He moved his lips and they explored how to take their kissing deeper. One of his hands lightly skimmed down her body, down to her hip where her sword belt rested, then back up. She shivered and pressed closer as their kissing grew less awkward and more passionate. Involuntarily, he pressed closer to her and felt, more than heard, her surprised gasp. There was no mistake of his feelings toward her now._

_He broke the kiss and lifted his head, fully expecting to be fireballed on the spot. What he saw instead was large eyes full of warmth and other emotions. She lifted her hand and trailed it down his cheek as she whispered his name in a manner that made him realize that she probably thought she was dreaming. The cloth felt rough against the slight stubble and he wanted that damn glove off. Instead, he surged forward and kissed her again._

_This time, he started kissing other places as well. His lips left hers and trailed down her face to the underside of her jaw. She leaned back and moaned slightly as he moved down to her pulse. Her vibrant, strong pulse that proved she was alive. Her hands tangled in his hair as he reached the collar of her tunic._

_"Gourry," she mummered so softly that he almost didn't hear her. "Gourry, it's time to wake up."_

_He ignored her. She was just dreaming. He would show her that everything he felt for her was real._

-----

"Wake up, jellyfish brains!"

Lina's shrill, demanding voice, accompanied by the fist to the top of his head, yanked Gourry out of his fantasy. He blinked several times as the world snapped back into focus. Dinner. They were eating dinner in some town that he forgot the name of for the moment. He glanced down to see the remains of dinner, then across the table at his fuming partner.

Lina sat back in her chair and scowled. "I swear, those pretty blue eyes of yours are like stained glass at times - glazed over and vacant. Just what's going on in that head of yours anyhow?"

Gourry was immensely grateful for the table shielding the lower half of his body - otherwise the situation would get much worse very quickly. "Ah, what were you talking about again?"

"You weren't listening at all?" Lina rolled her eyes and he almost grinned. "I was telling you how there's an expedition being launched to explore the lands beyond the Mazoku barrier and how Saillune is one of the kingdoms funding the mission and..."

Gourry selected one of the few remaining rolls from a dinner basket and munched thoughtfully as Lina continued.

_If only she knew..._


	12. Wake Unto Me

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This storyline is lifted from a Slayers doujinshi called "Recovery." Ichiban Victory provided the scans for me. It really is a sweet story. Lina has fallen ill and asks Amelia to go get her some oranges to help fight off the fever. Amelia calls out to Gourry to watch over Lina and he comes upstairs to care for her while Amelia is gone. While out shopping, Amelia runs into Zelgadiss and they have a sweet encounter. Meanwhile, Lina and Gourry have their own sweet moment while he is caring for her. While the doujinshi provides the backbone of the story, most of it is original.

-----

Story #12 - "Wake Unto Me"

Gourry figured he spent a good bit of his free time these days sitting by Lina's bedside. It wasn't anything perverted, not by any means. It was just that despite his absolute best efforts - and he really did try as hard as he could - Lina managed to get on someone's nasty sides which would lead to an even nastier fight and her getting knocked out.

He watched as her chest rose and fell beneath the blankets. Lina had woken up with a fever, Amelia said as she had run by the table where he and Zelgadiss were having breakfast in her quest to go find Lina some medicine. Zel had offered to come sit with him, but Gourry decided that Lina was probably going to be pretty crabby and wouldn't stand for much company.

He'd been right. Lina had been grouchy, but when she realized he wasn't going to leave, she settled down. Now she was sleeping and he was soaking a rag in cool water to place on her head.

Gourry moved back to her side and slowly pushed her bangs back from her forehead as she shifted uncomfortably. He felt bad for her. This was something that he, her protector, couldn't save her from. But he could still stand guard over her while she fought the illness attacking her body. He draped the cloth over her forehead and took her hand, cracking a yawn in the process. Maybe Lina wouldn't mind if he dozed a little himself.

-----

_"Delicious!" Lina cooed as she prepared to pop another slice of orange in her mouth. The fruit was a very tasty treat that was also quite expensive to get. She didn't have it very often. Usually, the only times she did was at Amelia's expense, simply because the princess could afford such treats. Lina loved oranges._

_But..._

_She eyed the huge mountain of oranges stacked near her. There was no way she was going to eat all of those oranges. Not by herself - and she had a healthy appetite. Heck, not even Gourry would be able to get through all of these!_

_She turned her attention back to the orange she had, but just for a brief second. Lina frowned. Was that rumbling she was hearing? Lina snapped her head around in time for the entire mountain of oranges come crashing down on her._

_-----_

Lina woke up, biting back a scream. She panted as she took in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was all the oranges crushing her chest. There was definitely no oranges surrounding her now. She let out a slow breath, thankful that it was just a dream. She frowned. But if it was just a dream, why was there something heavy still on her chest?

She shifted slightly to her side and immediately went red when she saw Gourry peacefully slumbering on the pillow next to her, the weight she felt being his arm wrapped around her body.

_What the..._ Lina gaped at him. _What does he think he's doing? What were we doing? Oh, Ceiphied..._ Water dripped into her eyes and she immediately reached for her forehead and felt the still damp rag resting there. The panic started to subside. Gourry had fallen asleep sponging off her forehead. _What a jellyfish!_

Lina's embarrassment eased somewhat as she watched him sleep. He appeared so peaceful and very young. Some of his hair draped over his shoulder and pooled onto the blankets. When she shifted, his arm tightened around her and she noticed he was actually sitting in the chair next to her bed.

She was content to simply watch him for a few minutes. He smelled good. It was the same soap and shampoo that she and Amelia had utilized in the baths the night before, but they smelled different on him. Lina rolled her eyes. This had to be the fever talking. Why else would she be musing over how Gourry smelled?

_Even so...he does smell nice. _She lifted her hand slightly, her fingertips grazing his bangs. _And his hair is so pretty. I wonder..._ She reached forward, tangling her fingers in the locks. She smiled. It was as soft as it looked. She gently pushed his bangs back.

In his sleep, Gourry gave a contented sigh and smiled, pulling Lina closer. She froze, wondering what to do next. They were almost nose to nose and if she moved the wrong way, then their lips would touch.

_Who said that would be a bad thing?_

Lina flushed. Damn fever talking again. Despite knowing that, she scooted a little closer and angled her head slightly. She'd always wanted to know...maybe it wouldn't hurt just to give him a peck.

"Why, Lina-san! You would think you'd want Gourry-san awake before engaging in such an activity."

Lina sucked in a breath when she saw Xelloss standing behind Gourry. With a scream, she sat up and punched Gourry so hard that he flew to the other side of the room.

He hit the wall with a crash, rolling to his feet a moment later. "Lina! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Lina gulped. "Ah...sorry. It's just _he,_" she threw Xelloss a glare, "surprised me."

"Oh, Xelloss!" Gourry said, noticing the Mazoku for the first time.

Xelloss laughed softly, enjoying the anger and embarrassment that rolled off of Lina in waves. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, Gourry-san." He winked. "But, I do have to wonder, what were you doing with Lina-san in her bed?"

Gourry scratched at his cheek. "What're you talking about?"

"Ah, well, you see..."

"Xelloss!" Lina shrieked. The last thing she needed was for him to put any ideas in Gourry's head!

-----

Amelia and Zel had gone off to talk. Lina finally managed to get rid of Xelloss. And a slightly crispy Gourry remained by Lina's side, despite the spell he'd been smacked with. It was originally meant for Xelloss, but he easily dodged it and Gourry turned into a crispy critter.

"Sorry about that," she muttered as she munched on one of the oranges Amelia had brought back.

Gourry flushed. "I'm sorry about... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Lina stared at the bedcovers, suddenly finding them immensely fascinating. "It wasn't that uncomfortable," she admitted. It had actually felt pretty nice. She felt warm and safe next to him, and...well... She swallowed, not wanting to acknowledge the other emotion she had felt. Instead, she laid down, readjusting her blankets. Stupid Xelloss. That one bit of magic left her exhausted. She _hated_ being sick.

"I'm going to get some sleep," she said and hesitated for a moment. Then she reached out toward him. "Would you like to stay?"

Gourry smiled and took his seat next to Lina's bed. "I wasn't going to leave," he informed her, but took her hand all the same.


	13. Dreams of the Impossible

**Disclaimer:** Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This story takes place during episode 20 of the original season of Slayers, after Lina and the others are attacked but before they make the final push into Old Sairaag to locate Rezo's legacy. It's time to see how others view Lina and Gourry together. This short story is dedicated to Ichiban Victory, one of the best Amelia writers that I know.

-----

Story #13 - "Dreams of the Impossible"

Amelia sighed and poked at the remains of the fire. She had no earthly idea why she had completely lost her senses when Gourry and Sylphiel had been close to each other. They had a history, that was no secret. The type of history was left open to debate.

She had slipped out of the cabin to join Lina at the hot springs and saw Gourry trying to make Sylphiel feel better. She couldn't blame him for that. Sylphiel had just lost her father...no, make that her entire city. She, Lina and Zel were all strangers to her. Gourry wasn't. He was the logical choice to provide comfort in a time like this. But it bothered her on some deep level - like the very forces that powered their world were being shoved out of order somehow.

It had grown worse when she spotted Sylphiel healing Gourry following the battle later that day. At first glance, Amelia thought that Gourry and Sylphiel were sharing an intimate moment. It was only later that Amelia realized that Gourry had been injured.

She sighed again, drawing her knees up to her chin.

"Are you still brooding about them?"

She glanced across the fading flames at the chimera who'd settled across from her. "I was just thinking, that's all," she admitted softly. "I don't know why I was getting myself involved like that. If Lina-san wants Gourry-san, she'll have to go after him herself."

"Somehow, you don't strike me as the person to just idle by when you see something you want to believe in." Zelgadiss chuckled at Amelia's annoyed stare. He reached for the coffeepot and poured the last into his tin mug. "You've been traveling with them for awhile now, haven't you?"

"Yes, for a month. How long were you with them?"

"About two-three weeks." Zelgadiss scanned the area quickly, his gaze settling on three occupied bedrolls. "Did you know they'd just met when I came across them?"

Amelia blinked, surprised. "Really?"

He nodded and took a sip. "You wouldn't think it. They worked together like they'd been with each other for years." He gave their sleeping forms a fond smile. "They do make a good team. I can see why you acted the way you did earlier."

Amelia smiled as she remembered how both Gourry and Lina's eyes had lit up at the sight of each other. They had chatted easily with a familiarity that many married couples didn't have. It faded slightly when her thoughts turned to Sylphiel once more. "Sylphiel-san is interested in Gourry-san. I wonder if he likes her in that way?"

"Well, it does take a very impressionable person for Gourry to remember a name," Zelgadiss replied, then reared back slightly at the wounded expression Amelia gave him. "It's not like that's a bad thing!" he insisted.

"It is too a bad thing!" Amelia jumped to her feet. "Gourry-san can't be interested in Sylphiel-san! It's just not right!"

Zelgadiss quirked an eyebrow. "Weren't you just fretting about over-reacting to the situation?"

Amelia balled her hands into fists and snorted. He smiled. "I thought princesses weren't suppose to snort."

"Well, I do a lot of things that princesses aren't suppose to do." She sank back onto the ground.

"I suppose proper princesses don't usually spend their time in old ruins hunting after Rezo's legacy." Zelgadiss tossed the remains of his coffee to his side and set the cup next to the fire. "As for Sylphiel and Gourry, it wouldn't work."

Amelia blinked, surprised. "Really? What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "It's a sense I get. They know each other, but Sylphiel worships Gourry. It's a sort of hero worship. It's embarrassing, really. I wouldn't want anyone acting that way around me."

Amelia's cheeks began to burn and she stared down at her hands, grateful that she wasn't doing that. She didn't want to cause anyone she knew to be embarrassed by her actions. She laced her fingers together and pulled them apart.

"I saw this plenty of times with Rezo and his lovers." Zelgadiss smirked at Amelia's shocked response. "I figured after us telling you about Shabranigdu that you wouldn't be surprised. He had quite a number of lovers. How do you think I eventually came into existence?"

"I didn't think of that," she acknowledged. "You told us that you're Rezo's grandson, but I wasn't thinking."

"Once the infatuation dies away, there's not much substance to the relationship. I think Gourry likes her. He certainly pities her for what happened. I do too. So does Lina, and I bet you do as well." Zelgadiss glanced at his sleeping companions. "A lifetime of hero worship and not knowing who I really am isn't something I relish out of a relationship."

"Lina-san does accept Gourry-san the way he is," Amelia acknowledged, thinking of all of Gourry's dense moments.

"Even more importantly, Gourry accepts Lina for the way she is," Zelgadiss replied. "He doesn't question her...much. She doesn't question him. They're completely comfortable around each other. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses like they do their own. It's a powerful force to reckon with."

"So, you're saying they're in love?"

"I'm saying it definitely wouldn't surprise me." Zelgadiss got to his feet. "Sylphiel will be good for both of them. I'm going to go patrol the camp."

"Okay," Amelia replied and watched him walk off. She placed her head in her hands and thought. How could Sylphiel be good for Lina and Gourry? Unless...her head snapped up. Of course! Having Sylphiel around Gourry would force Lina to realize her feelings! Why didn't she think of this before? Even when they first met Sylphiel, Lina acted oddly formal around her. It was jealously! Lina just didn't realize it.

Amelia jumped to her feet, a new mission blazing in her heart. They weren't in love yet, but given enough time, they would definitely get there. And she would help them! Amelia silently vowed to do everything possible to help Lina and Gourry recognize their feelings and build the relationship that seemed to be lurking just within their grasp. She wanted to see her friends be happy.

She headed back to her bedroll and slipped in, finally ready to sleep, and remembered the happy expressions that Lina and Gourry had given each other earlier in the day when they realized the other had emerged from their respective fights unharmed.

Somehow, she didn't think this would be an impossible dream to obtain.


	14. As Long as You're Mine

**Disclaimer: **Slayers doesn't belong to me, but to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I'm just borrowing the characters for awhile

**Notes:** This story takes place post-series and, once again, is an homage to the one-shot Araizumi manga - most specifically the panels where Gourry insists that Black Fox won't kiss Lina and when he vows to protect her for the rest of his life.

----- 

Story #14: "As Long As You're Mine"

"Are you even listening to me?"

Gourry glanced up from his lunch to see a nattily dressed man standing on the other side of the table, hands slammed down on the polished wood in frustration. He frowned. He hadn't noticed the guy coming in the tavern and he certainly wasn't paying attention when the man began talking to him in an extremely loud voice that caused half of the patrons to stop eating their meals and focus on the exchange.

"What did you say?" Gourry asked the man. He gave the waitress a warm smile as she slid a fresh basket of rolls in front of him. Her cheeks flushed pink and Gourry turned his attention back to lunch. And it really was a good meal...

"I keep asking, are you Gourry Gabriev the mercenary?" the man boomed.

Gourry chewed thoughtfully on a bite of pork chop. He shrugged after a moment. "Yes, I'm Gourry Gabriev," he responded. He decided not to answer to the mercenary part. He really didn't think of himself as one lately.

The man arched an eyebrow at him. "You really are as dimwitted as they say."

Gourry grabbed a roll, not hearing the man. They were so good and fresh today, and they were his. All his! He would be long finished before...

"Hello!" the man yelled, cutting into his thoughts. "I need you to do a job for me. I was told in the next town over that you were the best one to do this, and I refuse to leave until you give me a satisfactory answer!"

Gourry perked up slightly. "What sort of job?" he asked between bites of green beans.

"I want you to capture Lina Inverse!"

Gourry choked. He coughed for a moment until he managed to get the rest of his food down. "You want me to capture _who_?"

"Lina Inverse! The Dramata! Enemy of All Who Lives! I want Lina Inverse!"

_You're not the only one..._ Gourry managed to wipe off his mouth. "What do you want her for?"

"Who doesn't want her? Capturing the famous Dramata will bring me fame and fortune beyond my wildest dreams." The man leered at Gourry. "And you know what they say about redheads in bed, don't you?"

Gourry mulled that one over. The only thing he knew about Lina in bed was that she hogged all the covers and had a tendency to kick anyone in bed with her out - according to Amelia. Still, he did not like what the man was insinuating at all. He finished his pork chop and pushed the plate aside. "Sorry, can't do it."

"What do you mean you can't do it?" the man screeched. "I want Lina Inverse!"

"Sorry, but she's mine," Gourry replied, dropped a few coins on the table and pushed away from it.

The man gawked at him for a moment, his face turning purple. "Wha...what do you mean she's _yours_?"

Gourry shrugged. "She's mine. She has been for four years now."

"Gourry!"

His head snapped around and he grinned happily at the petite woman standing in the doorway, arms akimbo as she took in the situation. He waved to her. "Lina! Over here!"

The man gawked as Lina crossed the tavern. Small children began to cry. Several patrons hid underneath their tables. The owner started collecting outstanding bar tabs.

"What's going on, Gourry?" Lina eyed the now-sweating man.

"This fellow wants to hire me to capture you. He said he wants you."

Lina glared at the man. "Oh, really?"

Gourry nodded seriously. "And I told him I wouldn't because you're already mine."

"Well, that's good. Look, mister, I..._what_?" Lina whirled around and gawked at Gourry. "You told him I am _what_ to you?"

"Just that you're mine!" Gourry cocked his head to one side and wondered what he had done to get Lina angry at him now. "It's not such a big deal."

"I am...I am not _yours_. I am not some possession to be bartered or fought over like two brats whining for a doll!" Lina fisted Gourry's tunic and jerked him down to eye level. "What gives you the right to say that anyhow? And you!" She snapped her head around to see the man skulking off. "You're not getting away with that! Burst Rondo!"

The attack shot the man out the door. Satisfied for now, Lina shook Gourry roughly, then pushed him away. Furious, she stalked out.

-----

"Stupid jellyfish," Lina muttered, tossing rocks into the water as she sulked. How typical of Gourry, to make such a statement and then not mean it. He'd done it before, when he had told her that he was going to protect her for the rest of his life. That had been so absurd as well. He was so damn confusing to her. Fighting Mazoku was much easier than trying to figure out what his feelings were for him.

She drew her knees up to her chin and buried her face between them. _Stupid Gourry. Why can't you make a statement like that and mean it?_

"Lina?"

She heard his anxious voice and didn't care. "Go away, Gourry," she muttered.

"I can't do that," he replied and emerged from the foliage. It had taken him two hours to track her down and he thought she'd been so upset that she'd gone ahead and fled to the next town. He dropped to the ground beside her.

Lina turned her head slightly, just enough to glare at him. "Why did you tell that idiot something like that? You wouldn't give me to him because I'm yours. What type of statement is that?"

Gourry shrugged, picked up a stone and skipped it over the water. "The truth."

She flushed. _Damn it, he's doing it again._ Then it hit her. Of course. The guardian stuff. Gourry took his role as her protector extremely seriously. Over the years, she'd grown so accustomed to it that she often didn't consider it any longer. Naturally, he would say that she belonged to him because he was trying to protect her. It made her feel worse.

"He wanted you for sex, you know," he said in such a simple manner that Lina nearly forgot her embarrassment. "He said something about redheads in bed."

Lina started to growl. That's it. The man was _dead_. She was going to hunt him down and tear him limb from limb. She started to spring to her feet when she felt Gourry's hand on her shoulder. She glared at him. "Oh, no. Don't you even try to stop me. The man's going to be in more fragments than Shabranigdu when I'm done with him!"

"You can't do that, Lina," Gourry told her.

She gritted her teeth. "How are you going to stop me?"

"Well...I didn't ask for his name..."

"Simple! We go into town and look for a pompous asshole. There's several who fit the bill." She shrugged off his grip and tried to jump up again.

"Say, Lina?" Gourry grabbed her arm.

"What?"

"What did he mean by redheads in bed? He asked me if I knew what they say about redheads in bed and I assume he's talking about sex. You're a redhead. Do you know?"

The color drained from Lina's face. "I can't believe you're asking me that!" she screamed.

"Do you?"

"_No!"_

"Oh." Gourry rested his head in his hand for a moment, then shot her a mischievous grin. "Want to find out?"

"_Gourry!_"

He laughed and slung an arm around her shoulder. He knew he was two seconds away from being tossed in the creek, but he didn't care. He smiled down at Lina's flushed cheeks and blazing eyes. Oh, she was his all right - flaws and all.

He wouldn't have her any other way.


	15. Bathing in Artificial Light

**Disclaimer: **Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while. 

**Notes:** This story takes place right after Lina loses her magic to Mazenda and before she leaves to go see the sorcery doctor for a cure - essentially between the first and second scenes of episode 10 in Slayers NEXT.

-----

Story #15: "Bathing in Artificial Light"

"Lighting! Lighting!"

Most people wouldn't had heard the soft chanting coming from one of the guest rooms in Saillune's royal palace. Gourry figured that he either heard it because he happened to have exceptionally good hearing or that he was so in tune to Lina that he was able to tell when something was wrong.

He and Zel had been guarding Prince Phil when they heard a series of explosions come from another part of the palace grounds. Phil urged them to go and assist Lina and Amelia. They caught up to the girls at a temple that marked the exact middle of the city, and the wards that surrounded it. Amelia had come running out, yelling that Lina had lost her magic.

Gourry and Zel grabbed each other in shock when Lina demonstrated first-hand that one of the Mazoku, Mazen-something or other, had caused her magic to disappear.

Gourry was amazed at how resilient Lina was acting about the entire matter. He, Zel and Amelia had been in a panic, but Lina actually maintained a level head. Phil immediately suggested a doctor that would be able to repair her magic, having sent some of his sorcerers there himself. He offered to supply Lina with a horse and she would leave in the morning. It would take most of the day to get there, then her treatment. Depending on the treatment, she planned to return at the end of the second day.

Gourry had spend part of the remainder of the evening with Zel, sketching out a rough schedule to guard Phil. Amelia had burst in with an even more elaborate plan that involved wards, something to do with magic and hours of sitting. While she and Zel hashed out that plan, Gourry decided to see what Lina was doing.

"Lighting!"

Her desperate voice shook Gourry out of his thoughts and he laid a hand on the door. He bowed his head slightly, trying to figure out what he could do for her. He didn't know any magic. If he did, he'd somehow transfer whatever power he had to her. Lina sounded so sad. Magic was who she was. It would be the same, he rationalized, as if somehow the ability to be a swordsman was taken away from him.

He quietly pushed the door open and got a very rare look at Lina Inverse sans shields. Her hair was completely down, the band securing it slung over her discarded cloak and shoulder guards. Hooded eyes focused on her small hands, cupped in front of her. She chanted the spell again, waiting to be bathed with the artificial light that she knew would not come.

Gourry felt his heart shatter. He crossed the room in several large steps and dropped into the chair beside Lina. "You okay?"

Lina gave him a rueful smile and Gourry realized that she had to be extremely miserable to not yell at him for entering her room unannounced. "I was just thinking of all the deliciously evil ways to kill Mazenda. I've decided on very slowly, scooping out her insides with a rusted, maggot-encrusted spoon. And when I'm finished, I'm wrapping her remains octopus tentacles and I'm having them fed to orcs."

Gourry winced, grateful that he was in Lina's good graces.

Lina leaned forward, resting her arms on her thighs. "This really, really, sucks, you know?" she said in a voice so soft that Gourry had to strain to hear her.

"It won't be for long, Lina," Gourry said confidently. "You'll go to that sorcery doctor in that place...over there. Somewhere. You'll be fine." He gave her a bright smile.

Somehow, Lina managed an answering smile, then got to her feet. She wandered to the window and looked out over the sprawling gardens that surrounded the palace. In the distance, she saw the damaged temple to Ceiphied where the battle with Mazenda had taken place.

_How ironic_, Lina thought. "Ceiphied," she said softly, tapping her finger against the pain. _I wonder what my sister would say about this now? Probably that I had it coming. I was reckless again. I didn't move fast enough. I wasn't strong enough. I'll never be strong, not like her._

Gourry jumped to his feet when he saw tears running down Lina's cheeks. He racked his brain, but he figured that he could honestly say that he'd never seen Lina cry. Oh, she'd broken down into bawls and fits before, but that was usually over things like food and being denied certain treasures. But this was completely different. He was sure he'd never seen her grieve before.

"Cheer up," he urged, trying his best not to sound panicked.

"It's hard not to be upset," Lina snapped at him, then turned away once more. "It's hard to be without magic because it's all I have," she admitted. "During that time of month, I hate not being able to use it. And now...with this..."

"Just think of it as a second time of the month?" Gourry asked, scratching his head.

"Not helping here, jellyfish," Lina admonished him, but couldn't help smiling a bit in response. "It's just... Magic is what I am, Gourry. Dramata, the Enemy of All Who Lives, all of the legends and stuff, it's all because of how powerful of a sorceress I am. When you take that all away, what's left?"

Gourry stared at Lina as if she had lost a vital part of her brain. "Well, that's part of you," he acknowledged, "but to me, you're just Lina. You always have been. Not having magic doesn't change who you are. Maybe that's why I like you so much."

Lina went scarlet. _Maybe that's why he likes...no, no, no, this is Gourry! He wouldn't like me in that way!_ But despite the absurdity of his statement, Lina realized that she was starting to feel better. A whole lot better.

She smiled again and this time, it was a real one. "Thanks, Gourry."

What he did next unnerved her. Gourry crossed the room and gave her a hug. Lina blinked as his large arms enfolded her, but she didn't feel swallowed up. Instead, somehow, it felt right. She embraced him back and felt the grief drain away from her.

After a minute or so, Gourry wished her good night and left the room. Lina watched him leave with a bemused expression, then started to search for her hairbrush and get ready for bed. Gourry was right. Everything was going to be okay. And if it wasn't, she was going to kick some serious ass until it was.


	16. How Fire Took Water to Husband

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Notes:** This story takes place post-series and utilizes a character that I created for a series of short stories that is the daughter of Lina and Gourry. Those stories also establish my guess as to what Lina and Gourry do when they decide to settle down.

I wanted these 52 stories not to just look at Lina/Gourry in the series, but catch a glimpse of the possible future as well. The wedding scene, as described, is from "Something More." When I saw the name of the theme, one of the future stories seemed perfect. The original theme was "How Fire Took Water to Wife." Well, if Lina is fire and Gourry is water...yeah, that one needed altering.

-----

Story #16 - "How Fire Took Water to Husband"

Emilie loved hearing about how her parents got married. It suited them quite nicely that they would be joined by her Aunt Luna in her grandparents' living room with her Uncle Zel and Aunt Amelia attending. They had just finished one major battle and weren't that far from facing several more formidable foes. They had decided there was no moment like the present, so they got married.

But for everyone they met, it seemed that there were some people that were simply amazed with the idea that her mother would marry...well...her father.

It perplexed Emilie to no end. She sat at the kitchen table, kicking her legs absently as she chewed on her pen. She was suppose to be working on a homework assignment...which was rather actually an extra paper she received as a punishment from her teacher.

She grunted. It wasn't her fault that she happened to overhear some classmates talking about her mother and father. It wasn't her fault that she happened to hear one of those classmates say that her mother was a witch and her father a brainless idiot. And the teacher surely couldn't blame her if her fist just happened to find that stupid boy's face right after he made that remark.

She grinned. At least it had been a good punch. Brendan Juntle would be sporting a black eye for at least a week, if his mother didn't take him to a healer.

But it did make her wonder. Why did her parents choose to get married? Even Emilie admitted that on the surface, their relationship was...odd to say the least. They fought over food, her mother called her father a jellyfish and he retorted by making fun of her body. But there was hardly a day that Emilie didn't walk in on her parents kissing and she had finally figured out why they sometimes locked their door at night, or ran off to take a nap in the middle of the day. After all, she was 10 years old.

She set her homework aside and set out to find her parents.

-----

Emilie found her father out back, picking up firewood from where he'd been chopping it. He had his hair tied back and sweat had soaked through his shirt, plastering it to his back. She grabbed a glass of water on the way out the door and handed it to him. He grinned down at her and ruffled her hair fondly while he gulped down the water.

"Thanks," Gourry said, handing the glass back to her. "What brings you out here, Emilie-chan?"

She grinned back at him and leaned against the rainwater barrel. "I'm just curious. Why did you decide to marry Mama?"

"Haven't we told you that story before?" Gourry grabbed an armload of firewood.

"Yes, many times," Emilie replied, following him into the house. "But what made you fall in love with Mama?" She chewed her bottom lip. Should she tell them what people said? Her mother would become angry, but her father wouldn't mind so much. He had a lot of patience. But it would make him sad and she didn't want to do that to him.

Before she could come to a decision, Emilie felt her father's hand on her head again and she looked up at him. The kindness in his eyes and the gentle smile he gave her made her realize that perhaps he knew why she was hesitant over elaborating.

"People have been talking about me and your mother again, haven't they?" Gourry sighed. "I told Lina she shouldn't had blown away the mayor's house."

"He was being an idiot," Emilie muttered.

Gourry raised an eyebrow. "Emilie, don't side with your mother on this one."

"He called Uncle Zel a stonehead freak and unworthy to be crown prince of Saillune! Uncle Zel's perfect for Aunt Amelia!"

"I agree with you completely, but that doesn't mean you blow up a person's house for it."

"But it was an accident!" Emilie replied stubbornly.

"Like it was an accident that your fist happened to find some unfortunate person's face?" Gourry picked up Emilie's right hand and ran his thumb across the sore knuckles. "I'm surprised you didn't heal it yourself."

Emilie snatched it back and muttered under her breath in a gesture that was so like her mother that he fought to keep from laughing. She cast the spell and the slight bruising faded from her fingers. "You haven't answered my question, Papa! What made you fall in love with Mama?"

Gourry frowned and thought back over his and Lina's time together. He blinked, a little stunned when he did the math and realized that he'd known her for 18 years now. He closed his eyes as memories slipped through his brain, one after the other.

Finally, he opened them and smiled at Emilie. "I don't remember."

Emilie gawked at him. "_You don't remember_?"

Gourry shook his head, his grin growing wider. "Nope! It just seems like I've always loved your mother in one fashion or another."

Emilie buried her head in her hands. "Papa. I love you. But you're _hopeless_!"

-----

"What caused me to fall in love with your father?" Lina eyed Emilie over an inventory list and tugged her reading glasses off. "Has Amelia been slipping you romance novels again?"

"Not lately, Mama. I was just curious."

"I see." Lina slowly placed the glasses into its case. "I suppose then it has something to do with punching Brendan Juntle at school today."

Emilie swallowed nervously. "Ah, you heard, didn't you?"

"If I was a good mother, I'd tell you that you're in a lot of trouble, that punching a guy wasn't ladylike and you should go apologize this instant." Lina snapped the case shut and looked up at Emilie, her eyes sparkling. "But then, I wouldn't be your mother now, would I?"

Emilie grinned at her, relieved. "No ma'am!"

Lina snorted. "Stupid kid is just like his father. Does your father know?"

Emilie propped her elbows on the counter. "Not the specifics. He knows I got into a fight."

"Well, don't let your Aunt Amelia find out. I do not want to listen to another justice speech about how I should leave the mayor alone and not to encourage you to get into fights. And for heaven's sake, _don't_ tell your Aunt Luna!"

"Right!" Emilie nodded. Seven of Aunt Amelia's justice speeches in a row was much better than disappointing her Aunt Luna.

"Now then," Lina picked up her papers and stacked them, "as for me and your father..." She tapped the sheaf of papers against the table and thought about when she first met him, how he always just seemed to be there. She shrugged at Emilie. "I suppose I can't remember."

Emilie blinked at her and nearly rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "Mama, Papa isn't rubbing off on you, is he?"

"He better not be!" Lina cried and pushed away from the table. "I'm going to kick his ass if he is!"

"Right," Emilie laughed. She followed Lina into the kitchen and started to help with fixing dinner.

Throughout the night, she watched her parents interact. They fought over dinner, but worked together to clean the dishes. As she finished her homework, her father brought down his sword and armor and did his nightly ritual of cleaning it while her mother read aloud from the newspaper, making sure to editorialize whenever she could.

After she went to bed, Emilie laid under the covers, listening to the sounds of her parents moving around downstairs. When she heard footsteps, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep when her door cracked open and she saw her father's blond hair shining in the moonlight.

"She's asleep," he said and pulled the door, leaving it cracked. "Poor kid had a rough day."

"She's used to it. She's strong." Emilie opened one eye at the sound of her mother's voice. The door was still open wide enough to where she had a pretty good view of her parents standing outside of their room. "She's got a good head on her shoulders, despite having to deal with us."

"Dealing with you isn't so bad," her father said fondly, ruffling her mother's hair. "I've put up with you for 18 years now. Though, Lina, I really wish you wouldn't encourage her to punch other people's kids."

Emilie bit her lip to keep from laughing. She could visualize her mother rolling her eyes in response. "He deserved it, Gourry. Besides, she stood up for herself. I'd rather her do that than come crying home to us that she was being teased."

"This is true, but..."

Her mother laughed. "Don't worry. She's going to turn out just fine. Did she ask you that question regarding us falling in love?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't remember."

"Don't feel bad on that one." Her voice gentled. "Neither could I."

"It wasn't in a bad sort of way." Her father shifted and Emilie blushed a little when he wrapped his arms around her mother. "It just feels like I've always loved you."

"I suppose I feel the same way," her mother replied softly.

They kissed in a manner that caused Emilie to blush even harder as pride welled up in her chest. It really didn't matter what other people thought. Her parents loved each other and that was more than many of her peers could say. She turned onto her side, facing away from the door to give them privacy.

It wasn't needed.

About a minute later, she heard her parents' door shut...then lock.

-----

"Yes, that's right, I met your parents the day after they met each other." Zelgadiss sipped at his tea and smiled at his goddaughter. "They were pretty amazing. Your father came after your mother and rescued her even though he'd barely known her longer than I had. They worked together so well then that I thought they'd been together much longer. I certainly had them pegged for lovers."

"Do you remember when they fell in love with each other?" Emilie asked, balancing her own cup upon her knee. "They say they don't remember when they fell in love."

Even though she was quite secure in knowing how her parents felt about each other, she was still curious about how they fell in love. So she'd come to the people who had known her parents the longest - her Aunt Amelia and Uncle Zelgadiss. Amelia had been busy, but Zel had latched onto Emilie's unannounced visit as a perfect opportunity to take a much-needed break from his duties.

Zelgadiss thought back over the past 18 years, about his friendship with Lina and Gourry and how that changed his life. He then focused on the two of them, though Amelia had always been the one to emphasize their relationship more than he.

He finally gave Emilie a rueful grin. "Your mother is like fire. She's hot-tempered and is always quick at...everything. She's powerful and trying to resist her is like trying to sneak away during one of your aunt's justice speeches. It can't be done."

Emilie snickered. Zel chuckled.

"Your father is like water," he continued. "He's more calm and while his personality does has its own quirks, he tends to fade into the background next to your mother. But like water, he is always there and is always soothing - especially for her. On the surface, you could say they're complete opposites. But they became a unit almost from the beginning. One day, they decided they couldn't live without each other." His eyes took on a faraway look as he remembered one incident in particular. Emilie didn't know about Lina channeling the Lord of Nightmares and Gourry following her into the Sea of Chaos. It was one of those tales that she would be told when she was older.

He took another sip of tea. "So I guess there really isn't an answer. Ever since your parents met, they've had a connection with each other. That would be the initial spark that flared into love. So when your father came walking down that road and she saw those bandits and turned to meet his eyes that first time, I suppose you could say their future was set." He lifted an eyebrow and saluted her with the teacup. "And yours as well, Emilie."

Emilie laughed and the conversation turned to magic. But she didn't mind. She'd found her answer.


	17. A Dark Heart Beating

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Notes:** This story takes place post-series has spoilers for the end of the 15th novel. This one skirts the high end of the T-rating, but I don't think it's enough to push it over to M.

-----

Story #17: "A Dark Heart Beating"

The sounds of night worked their way through the small inn room. The soft chirping of crickets, newly emerged thanks to the recent arrival of spring. The creaking of a lone wagon moving down the street outside. The soft snoring of the man whose arms she laid in. The beating of her heart as it finally slowed to its normal rhythm as the rest of her body cooled.

It was a very peaceful night.

And Lina Inverse lay awake, tormented by the demons that she managed to keep hidden except for the times when she was the most unguarded.

She couldn't think of a time that she was more exposed – physically, emotionally and mentally than she was now, following the moments of intimacy with the man that she finally admitted to loving. Love, she knew, made her extremely vulnerable to things. Wasn't it love that caused her to cast the Giga Slave that allowed the Lord of Nightmares inside of her in the first place?

Lina lifted her hands, stared at them. They were smooth and unblemished, only because she made sure they were kept covered with top-grade leather most of the time. These hands had wielded the spells that brought down Rezo the Red Priest, who had been housing the a piece of the Dark Lord Shabranigdu. They had brought down countless high-level Mazoku, defeated Darkstar, Hellmaster Phibrizzo and most recently partially ruined Dynast and destroyed a second piece of Shabrangidu.

Not many humans had the power she wielded. Most of her was really proud of th e work she had done to achieve perfection in her craft. So, she attracted a few uglies along the way. Big deal, right?

A very small part of her worried that she would eventually be consumed by the darkness that she faced on a regular basis. It was something that nagged at her after beating Rezo. It really started eating away at her once she and Gourry were forced to kill their friend, Luke, to destroy another piece of Shabranigdu. Love, she knew, was a motivator to do great and wonderful things. It could also motivate people to do great and terrible ones as well.

"Lina?" Gourry's voice was slurred with sleep. "You're still awake?"

"Nah, go back to sleep. I'll follow in a moment." Lina closed her eyes and tried to will herself to slip away. Her fingers moved up Gourry's chest until they rested over his heart and she felt the slow, steady beat of it beneath her touch.

_I lost Gourry and called on the Lord of Nightmares to get him back. But, he wasn't dead, not the way Millina was killed. What if Phibrizzo had killed Gourry? Would the darkness consume me the way it did Luke? I don't have a piece of the Dark Lord in me, but I have the power to do horrible things. What if Gourry was murdered the way Millina was?_

Lina quickly sat up and pressed her hands to her eyes, her body shaking as images as disturbing as the ones Auntie Aqua once showed her inside of the Clarie Bible temple going through her mind. She forced herself to take deep, even breaths and then glanced down at her companion. Blue eyes stared up at her, vivid even in the dark.

"Am I a dark person, Gourry?" she asked, and hoped beyond hope that he would get it without a deep explanation.

Gourry frowned. "Your skin's light, Lina."

"No!" But, his simple-mindness brought a smile to her lips briefly. "Not my skin. Am I... Am I an evil person?"

"No." His answer was so immediate, she knew it was nothing but the truth and she relaxed. Gourry pushed himself into a sitting position, the sheet dropping until it pooled around his waist. He drew his knees up slightly and mulled it over. "You are self-centered, a pig, greedy, pushy and a loud-mouth."

Lina narrowed her eyes threateningly at him. _Buddy, you are so close to being fireballed, I can already see the see the scorch marks on the wall from the aftereffects._

"But, you're not evil," Gourry finished and never realized how close he came to be turned into charred jellyfish. "You've never given into the Mazoku when they demand it and when push comes to shove...a lot of shoving...you do the right thing."

"It's not that. It's just...it's complicated, OK?" Lina flopped back down on the bed. She didn't say anything for a few minutes and Gourry eventually laid back down as well. He thought she'd finally gone to sleep, but her voice came out soft in the darkness.

"Part of me thinks that if I ever lose you, I'll do what Luke and Rezo did – use the power that's in me to destroy a good chunk of humanity."

Lina could almost hear the gears turning in Gourry's head and knew that it had escaped him. She wished that he realized just what she was admitting, the depth of what he meant to her.

Then he slipped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Well, I'm just not going to die then, will I?"

"If you die, I'm coming after you just to kick your butt," Lina vowed with a small smile.

Gourry chuckled, then fell silent. "You know, I don't think you'd do it though," he said after a minute.

"Do what?"

"Do what Luke did or that...Razo?"

"Rezo."

"Yeah, him. I don't think you'd suddenly hate everyone on the planet because I'm gone. I mean, what if I died by choking on a chicken bone?"

"If you die by choking on a chicken bone, it's because you stole my chicken and you deserved it."

"Ah, but it was my chicken first and you snatched it off my plate to begin with!"

They were sitting up again, ready to go at each other over an imaginary piece of chicken. It was only when Lina reached out to fist Gourry's shirt that she realized that first of all, he wasn't wearing one, and second, there was no chicken in the room. Which was a shame, because she was starting to feel peckish.

"Come on," Lina said, tossing aside the sheet and started to gather her clothes. "I'm hungry. Let's go wake the innkeeper up and demand full access to his pantry."

"Right with you!" Gourry was out of bed and halfway dressed by the time Lina found her tunic under the bed. She held it in her hands, watched as Gourry finished dressing. He stuck his head through the neckhole of his shirt, then gave her a smile that had her insides twisting.

_Maybe Gourry's right. Even if I did lose him, I have something that Rezo and Luke both missed out on. I have moments like these to remember. I know that even for awhile, I was loved and I can look back on this time and remember being happy. If I destroy humanity, I destroy the fact that these moments ever existed. My life isn't worth much without Gourry in it. But, I won't deny other people the chance to have what we do either._

"Enough of this angsting," Lina announced to herself more than to Gourry as she finished doing up her tunic. "Let's eat! Race you!" She was out the door, laughing, when Gourry started after her.


	18. The Smell of Hospitals in Winter

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story is dedicated to Stefanie2. Long live Klutz Anonymous! The inspiration for this particular story came from a piece of Japanese fanart of Gourry holding Lina in his arms. Since mangles up URLs, if anyone wishes to see the picture, just contact me and I'll gladly provide the link.

-----

Story #18: "The Smell of Hospitals in Winter"

It was, in retrospect, a very stupid accident. Well, it wasn't as much stupid as it was perfectly normal. Lina felt she'd been through her fair share of unusual incidents and had miraculously emerged with injuries that could be put right within a few days. Even when Copy Rezo pierced her through, thanks to Sylphiel, that injury had disappeared within a few hours.

Which is why it stunned Lina the moment she slipped on a patch of ice and landed on the ground, her leg twisted beneath her, her foot giving a sickening crunch in the process.

_Well, damn._ Lina stared at the sky, a little too dazed to get up. Then the sky was replaced by an anxious face and worried blue eyes.

"Lina? Are you OK? That was a pretty bad fall. Lina?"

"Shut up, Gourry," Lina hissed, her temper rapidly fraying. She waved him away and sat up, ignoring the twinges of pain coming from her foot and ankle. "Back off. I just slipped, that's all." She tried to get up, but failed. "Damn it!"

Gourry frowned. In a single, swift move, he scooped her off the ground and into his arms, taking care not to jostle her legs as much as possible.

Lina yelped and grabbed onto him for dear life until she realized that she was several feet off the ground and not by her own volition. "What the... Put me down!"

"No. I think your ankle's broken. I'm taking you to see a healer."

"My ankle is not broken!" Lina yelled back at him and noticed that a crowd was starting to gather around them. Her embarrassment tripled. "Put me down, _now, _or I'll see that you'll live to regret it!"

"I'm not going to put you down," Gourry told her as if he was speaking to a small child.

Lina kicked her legs and nearly swore at the pain that shot through her body. Even so, she had a reputation to keep and being carried through Atlas City in Gourry's arms would do nothing to keep it intact.

She elbowed him, hard, but he didn't lose his grip on her. Instead, his arms further tightened around her and their eyes locked. For several minutes, they glared at each other as the crowd milled around them and waited to see who would come out on top. Some placed wagers on the redhead. Others, mostly women, had their money on the gorgeous-looking blond.

"Let. Me. Down. Now." Lina slowly enunciated each word and lifted her hand, magic starting to form in the palm. So, she'd take him down and herself along with him. It'd be worth the pain.

Gourry didn't say anything for a moment. "All right," he conceded and started to lower her.

Lina immediately started to slip from his hold. The moment her right foot touched the ground, immense pain flooded her. With a scream, she leaped back into Gourry's arms, her arms tightening around his neck like a vice. Tears leaked from her eyes and she turned her face into his chest as she fought for control. She took several shaky breaths and the nausea that churned in her gut began to settle.

"Well," she said weakly, "I might need a little assistance."

Gourry smirked. Lina glared at him. "Smart-ass."

"I might be a smart-ass, but I didn't trip and break my ankle," he said lightly.

"I didn't trip, I slipped. There's a difference. And I didn't break my ankle. It's just sprained."

"Wanna bet?"

----–

Lina wasn't quite sure what stuck in her craw more – the fact that her ankle really was broken or the fact that she now owed Gourry a seven-course dinner at the most expensive restaurant in Atlas City. As the healer bent over her, repairing the bones with magic, Lina started to plot different ways to get out of that particular bet.

The slightly musty smell of herbs wafted through the room. It was one that she always associated with hospitals, clinics and other healing spots. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but it wasn't exactly comforting either.

"All done, Inverse-san," the healer said, straightening. "You should rest it for a few hours and not do any running for a couple of days. It was a clean break, so the bone mended properly. You can stay here until you're strong enough to walk."

Lina paid her and the healer left the room. She leaned back and folded her hands across her chest.

_I'm so bored._

Lina laced her fingers together several times, then glanced across the room at Gourry, who was asleep in the visitor's chair. Grabbing the cup of water and ice next to the bed, she started flicking ice chips at him.

She got some amusement out of seeing his face contort as the ice pelted him. It fell into his lap and after a moment began to melt. After the 20th chip, the ice in his lap melted enough so that his eyes popped open and he leaped out of the chair with a yelp of pain as the freezing water seeped through his clothes.

"Lina," Gourry growled, ice tumbling to the ground.

She smirked and held the cup protectively. "A girl has to do something to amuse herself when she's confined."

"By using me as an ice cube target?"

"You're right. I should use something bigger." Grinning mischievously, Lina held up her hands. "Freeze Bull..."

"Never mind, never mind!" Gourry dropped to the ground and covered his head with his hands. When she laughed, he glared at her. "You're just torturing me because I was right about your ankle."

Lina grumbled at him. "You're going to be rubbing that in my face for the next three days, aren't you?"

"Maybe." In a good mood again, Gourry took his seat once more and scooted the chair closer to the bed. "What did the healer say?"

"I'll be on my feet in a few hours."

"In just enough time for my seven-course meal." Gourry patted his stomach. "I can't wait!"

_We'll see about that._ "You know, for all the stuff we get involved in, it's kind of stupid that slipping on a piece of ice caused me to break my ankle."

"Well, at least you didn't fall down the stairs like that blonde girl in the next room."

"I'm not that big of a klutz." Deciding to take advantage of the quiet, Lina closed her eyes. She would catch a nap and by the time she woke up, she'd be able to move around. Then they'd see about that seven-course dinner. She fell asleep, dreaming of ways to turn the tables on Gourry so that he would pay for the meal.


	19. Another Grey Day in the Deep Blue World

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story is dedicated to The Flowergirl. It's set about 15 years after the start of the series and 10 years after "Something More."

-----

Story #19: "Another Grey Day in the Deep Blue World"

Lina _knew_ this was going to happen. As soon as she and Gourry shifted from wandering sorceress and swordsman to store owners, teachers and parents, she knew that their life would fall into a tedious pattern.

It wasn't that bad of a life, she thought as she stared out the window one morning, two eggs held in hand ready to be cracked over a frying pan. Most of their adventures now centered around whatever mischief their 7-year-old daughter got into and the little dramas that came with having a family and being closely tied to the Saillune royal family. It all paled next to the grand adventures that they used to have. The last big event in their lives had been the mess with Gourry's family, then Xelloss deciding that he needed to "borrow" Emilie for a few days. But even that was four to five years ago.

Lina cracked the eggs and allowed the insides to fall into the pan before grabbing a fork to scramble them. She had a good kid, a doting husband who loved her and a thriving business that was her own. It was the future that she'd fought for.

But some part of her wanted to trade all of that to go after a bandit camp again.

Even that aspect of her life cooled greatly, thanks to an incident that happened when Emilie was 4. Lina, feeling much like she did at this moment, left Emilie with Gourry and decided to go off on a little day trip to do some bandit extermination – omitting that little aspect of her plans when she informed him that she was going out for the day. Except, it hadn't gone exactly as planned and resulted in Lina being kidnapped.

A frantic Gourry, along with Zel and Amelia, had gone searching for her and managed to get her back – but only after she'd broken her arm, sprained an ankle and nearly got killed in the process. Lina thought the torture had been better than the subsequent lecture she'd gotten from Amelia and a very terse letter from Luna.

But it'd been the subsequent fight she'd had with Gourry and Emilie's fears that Lina would be kidnapped again that put a stop to the bandit outings. She agreed to stop making such rash decisions for their sake.

"Mama, the eggs are burning," Emilie announced as she walked into the kitchen, half of her hair braided and the other half hanging down her back. She flopped into a chair as Lina swore, then rescued the pan before it went up in flames as well.

"Papa," Emilie tilted back her head and yelled, "We're having breakfast at the tavern again."

"We are not. I'll just start..." Lina reached into the basket and glared when she saw that it was empty. "Where's the other eggs?"

"There was only two. I double-checked."

"All right, all right. Finish braiding your hair while I go hunt down your father." Grumbling over the expense, Lina headed out of the kitchen to find Gourry.

----–

"You're being quiet today," Gourry commented as they walked home from the nearby tavern that they ate a good many of their meals at. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Emilie's braids swishing across her back as she headed in the opposite direction toward school. He turned his focus back to his wife. "It's that time of month, isn't it?"

"No," Lina growled in return. "Do I have to be having PMS in order to be pissy? I have the right to be grouchy any time I want."

"Right." Gourry smiled and folded his arms behind his head. "Still, you yell at everyone when you're really mad."

The store came into view and Lina stopped. Everything in her wanted to rebel against going inside, opening for business and being normal. She didn't want this to be just another ordinary day. She wanted to hunt bandits. She wanted to find exotic treasure and travel aimlessly until she stumbled into an adventure. She wanted that part of herself back so badly that her chest burned and tears stung at her eyes.

"Lina?" Concerned now, Gourry dropped his arms. "Are you OK?"

_No, I'm not, can't you see that?_ With every ounce of control that she possessed, Lina managed not to scream. "Let's just do what we have to do," she said and stepped briskly toward the front door.

----–

The next morning, Lina rolled onto her side and automatically reached for Gourry. When she touched a cold mattress instead, she cracked open one eye. _He's up early. Good. That means he can cook breakfast._.She closed her eye again and pulled the quilts around her. She was nearly back to sleep when nature decided to remind her that it was morning. With a sigh, she threw back the covers.

Lina saw a pile of purple and yellow clothes heaped on the chair next to the bureau, a note lying on top of them. She frowned, wondering why they were out. It was the last set of her old traveling clothes, the others sliced to ribbons when she was kidnapped. She picked up the note. Written in Gourry's scrawling hand, it simply said, "Wear these. I'll explain later." With a shrug, she scooped them up and carried them into the bathroom with her.

They fit, which didn't surprise her. She still used a lot of energy in teaching magic, running around after Emilie and haggling with customers. They were even a bit loose in some places. Lina fixed the bandeau around her chest and scooped up her cloak and gloves.

She walked downstairs and nearly tripped on the last step when she saw Gourry standing in the kitchen, wearing his old blue shirt and pants. He was fixing his thigh guards to his legs while Emilie, standing on a chair, worked at his shoulder guards. "What are you doing dressed like that? Did something happen?"

Father and daughter stared at her, then matching grins spread over their faces. "Mama! You look neat!" Emilie cried out. She had very faint memories of her parents in their traveling clothes, but she'd seen enough drawings – including an old Wanted poster Aunt Amelia had saved – that she knew what they looked like. "I'm helping Papa by being his umm...I forgot what it was."

"Squire." Lina stepped over to them, cloak draped across her arm. She lifted an eyebrow. "Care to tell me where we're going?"

"I'll tell you in a bit." Gourry tested the shoulder guards, then absently ruffled Emilie's hair. He wrapped an arm around her waist and swung her out of the chair. "We need to go run an errand. Filia's coming to stay with Emilie."

"Aunt Filia's bringing baby Val," Emilie told her.

"What sort of errand?" Temper began to simmer in the back of Lina's mind. She didn't like being kept in the dark like this. "Look, if you don't stop acting like Xelloss..."

"This is my cue." Gourry quickly kissed Emilie on the cheek, then grabbed Lina's arm. "Say goodbye to our daughter, Lina."

"Goodbye, Emilie," Lina said automatically, then scowled. She tried to yank away from his grip, but it tightened. "Now, just a minute, Gourry!"

"Bye!" Emilie waved after them as Gourry hauled Lina out of the house. "Bring me back something! And make sure it's not cheap!"

----–

Lina waited until they were far enough from town that she wouldn't risk incinerating it when she took revenge on Gourry. She started by stomping his foot as hard as she could. When he yelped with pain, she followed it with an elbow jab to his gut and broke free from his hold. Whirling around, she leaped up and grabbed him in a headlock. "Now, talk," she hissed. "Else your enjoyment of oxygen becomes a thing of the past."

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Lack of air caused his voice to rise several octaves. Reluctantly, she let go and watched as he took a battered piece of paper out of his pocket. She snatched it out of his hand and stared at it, recognizing it as a wanted poster she'd seen outside the post office.

Gourry sheepishly ran his hand through his hair. "I heard them talking yesterday at the tavern that this bandit camp's only a day's walk from town. No one's willing to take them on, so I didn't know if you wanted to..."

His voice trailed away as she gave him a disbelieving glare. "You're teasing me, right? We've had this fight before. You didn't want me chasing after bandits after what happened a few years ago." It'd been such a bitter fight, Lina was sure not even Gourry had forgotten it.

He crossed over to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "I said I didn't want you going out alone. I didn't think you'd give up bandit hunting entirely."

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it as the memories of the most bitter fight they'd ever had came flooding back.

_He'd stood by the bed, anger adding age to a face that she normally thought was so beautiful. She'd hardly ever seen him be truly angry, but when he was, it was always about her. "How could you not think of what this did to me? To Emilie? How can you be so selfish? You ran out there alone and what if we hadn't gotten to you in time? You lied to me."_

"_I didn't lie to you and you know it," she shot back, fisting the bedsheet so tightly that she was quite it would have small holes in it from her nails. "I just...didn't tell you my plans, that's all."_

"_And look at the mess it landed you in!"_

"_Look, if you'd known, you'd never let me go."_

"_How would you have known if you hadn't asked?"_

"_That's bullshit, Gourry!" Eyes filled with rage, Lina sat as straight as her injuries would allow. "It's always been like this – for 11 years. You get yourself all twisted up when I go out looting bandit camps. I can't just expect to turn off a part of myself at your command."_

_He said nothing, but the anger was replaced with an immense sadness that had tore at her gut. Without saying another word, he left their bedroom and didn't spare a glance at the shocked Zelgadiss, Amelia, Sylphiel and Filia who had all stood immobilized outside the door._

Even though they'd weathered it, they never resolved it – not all of it. She took a deep breath and hoped they wouldn't begin this type of fighting out on the open road. "You told me, three years ago, that you didn't want me running out alone like that again."

"I didn't want you to go out alone. There's a difference between telling someone where you're going and then just doing it."

"I told you I'd never ditch you like that." They'd had that conversation a number of years before as well.

"It's not just that." Worry came into his eyes. "You went out there alone and you almost didn't come back. If I'd been there..."

_Ah, the classic guilt trip._ "You weren't and it was my doing. I'll live with the decision."

"But, it's not just you anymore."

"We had this fight three years ago."

Frustration started to eat away at him. Yes, they had exactly the same conversation three years ago and had gotten nowhere then. "Look, you like collecting treasure. You like blowing up bandits. It's who you are and it eats at you when you don't do it. I'm not that much of an idiot, Lina."

She cocked an eyebrow and didn't say anything for a moment. "Very perspective of you," she mummered.

"I never expected you to give it up completely. I just don't want you going out there alone. We can be who we are now, but we can still be who we used to be as well." Gourry frowned, then rubbed at his chin. "No, wait, that doesn't sound right. We can..."

She laughed. "I get it, Jellyfish, I get it." It did sound like a bunch of gibberish coming from him, but Lina did get it. In order to get past the crisis in their marriage, she'd pushed aside a part of her life she figured she would have to eventually give up anyhow. He was trying to show her that she didn't have to give up her past in order to have a future together.

Lina fisted Gourry's shirt. But when he expected her to flip him over her shoulder onto the ground, she yanked and gave him a hard kiss. She gave him a saucy grin. "Come on, pal. Let's go kick some bandit ass before it gets any later." She let him go, then smoothed out the wanted poster as she started to walk down the road. "Now, here's the plan. I'll pull them out with a fireball and you..."

Gourry stared after Lina as she walked down the road. She folded the poster, stuffed it in one of the many pockets in her cloak, then swung the garment over her shoulders. She tossed a glare back at him. "Get a move on, Jellyfish! I'm not going to wait for you!"

He laughed and ran to catch up with her.


	20. And I Love You Even Through Uncertainty

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story is dedicated to Secondlina, who did an absolutely gorgeous fanart of an infected Lina, her arm scaly, crying. Her work inspired this plotbunny. She had Lina's left arm be infected, but I chose to use the right arm. This story takes place shortly after the end of "Slayers: Knight of Aqualord" and contains spoilers for the manga.

-----

Story #20: "And I Love You Even Through Uncertainty"

She'd been warned, hadn't she? She'd been told there would be a drawback to using Airlord's power, that humans weren't meant to channel the power of the gods. She had seen what had happened to Oren when she used the gods' power to save her life. But Lina didn't listen. She wasn't very good at listening when it was advice that she particularly didn't want to hear.

It began a few days after the battle, as she and Lyos recovered from nearly losing their lives in the fight against Hureika. Lina had already dealt with a few side effects from the battle itself. Her hair had lightened considerably, a condition that only Gourry had seen before. Even he remembered the context and had been the only one of the group not to question Lina when she did nothing but sleep and eat.

Three days later, she felt fine - all with the exception of a strange rash on her arm. Lina found herself scratching at it every so often. Probably a bug bite. _Damn tropical weather. I need to ask Shizuri where there's decent weather, not quite so hot._

On the fourth morning, Lina woke up, stretched out her arms and screamed.

In the other two beds in the room, Shizuri and Amelia sprang up. Shizuri opened her mouth to yell at Lina, when she got a good look at the sorceress' arm. Her eyes widened instead.

"Lina!" The door burst open and Gourry sprinted in, sword in hand and shaving cream dripping from one side of his face. Lyos was behind him, fully dressed and Banisher drawn.

"What the hell are you screaming about?" Lyos groused, then noticed the women clustering around Lina.

Shizuri grabbed Lina's arm and inspected it closely. The initial shock faded and Lina took a good look for herself. An infection of some sort had erupted over the skin. The skin was red, cracked and peeling in a number of places. As Shizuri probed the wound, an incredible itch shot through her arm and Lina immediately went to scratch it.

"Maybe this will help," Amelia suggested positioning her hands over Lina's arm. "Recover..."

"No, wait." Shizuri held up a hand to stop Amelia. "That won't help, Princess. Don't scratch it, Lina."

"What the hell do you suggest I do? My arm feels like it wants to come off!"

"That's exactly what it's trying to do," Shizuri said softly.

"What?" Lina and Amelia shouted.

Shizuri didn't say anything for a moment. Instead, her gaze moved to Lyos. "Have you seen anything like this in your village?"

Lyos rested his blade on his shoulder, thought back. "Yeah. We had a priestess who served the village for a time. Eventually lost a leg and she had to leave. I heard she died not long after."

Something cold settled in Lina's heart and she shoved it away. She glared at Shizuri. "This can be fixed, right?"

"I don't know. We're close enough to Titou now that I think we need to see Sazu-sama."

-----

The last time Lina had seen the head priest to the Aqualord temple in Titou, he had been doing his best to prevent them from progressing on their trip. He had finally decided that they were worthy of being allies and sent Shizuri along to guide them in finding Airlord's power.

He inspected Lina's arm himself, listening quietly as Shizuri recounted Lina being granted Airlord's power and subsequent defeat of Rikufalso. Then, he sent everyone else from the room so he could speak to Lina.

Sazu remained standing as the door shut behind Amelia and the others. Lina drew herself up as straight as possible and leveled a direct stare at the priest. "Tell it to me straight. I'll know it if you're not."

A smile tugged at the corner of Sazu's mouth. "I'm not surprised to hear you say that, Lina Inverse. I've done quite a bit of fact-checking in the time you've been gone. You've made quite the name for yourself, even before you sailed beyond the Mazoku barrier, your deeds were known here."

Lina narrowed her eyes at him, her temper starting to fray. "Can the pleasantries and get to the point."

"I am getting there," he replied cooly. "You have a reputation for being hotheaded and engaging in activities without thought to how you will suffer after this. You had heard Oren's warning about humans wielding the gods' power. There is a reason why not many humans are granted it. They don't have the magical capacity to handle it. For the few who do, they can only use it in short bursts. Any prolonged use and it causes a reaction in your body."

A greasy knot of nerves and fear formed in Lina's stomach. "I overused Airlord's power."

"Correct. Your body isn't trained to handle this. Usually, I don't see a case of it this bad, but in extenuating circumstances, it can lead to a loss of limb or life." Sazu tilted his head slightly. "You are a user of black and Chaotic magic. The god's magic is fighting those forces within your body. Therefore, the reaction is more severe."

"Am I going to lose my arm?"

Sazu closed his eyes and didn't say anything for a moment. Lina was about ready to yell at him again when he opened them. "I don't know. The infection doesn't last long. If it doesn't get worse in the next 12 hours, it'll heal and you'll be fine. If not, we will have to amputate your arm or you will lose your life."

-----

She sat in her room alone. She hadn't wanted to share with anyone and simply wanted to wait out the 12 hours in solitude. Lina slowly undressed, allowing each piece of clothing to fall to the floor at her feet until she was naked save for her headband. She started to reach for her pajamas, then stopped.

Her arm had gotten worse, slightly. The itching had increased to a stabbing pain that felt like someone was shoving dozens of hot pokes into her shoulder. Now, it was simply numb and she couldn't feel her arm at all. It was an odd sense of nothingness. She could still use her arm, but Lyos could probably whack it with Banisher's hilt and she still wouldn't feel a thing.

Lina slowly curled her hand into a fist, then startled as tears blurred her vision. She spread her hand back out flat and stared at the cracked, flaking skin.

She didn't realize that she had sank onto the floor until she had done so, until the tears streamed down her cheeks and she was unable to stop them. She closed her eyes, sobs racking her body.

_Oh, god. What am I going to do? I can't practice magic if I lose my arm. I should had listened to Oren. But, I had no other choice to save Lyos and everyone else! No, I should had summoned up enough power to use a Ragna Blade. There had to be another way around it. What am I going to do?_

Lina didn't hear the door open, didn't realize that someone was in her room until she felt a blanket draped over her shoulders. She was pulled into a strong pair of arms and the familiar scent of clove oil teased her nose. She turned into him, buried her head against his chest and wept for the poor choices that she made and the future that was possibly ruined.

-----

She woke several hours later. It took her a moment to remember where she was, but the mixture of pain and itching in her arm was a sharp reminder of what had happened and what the future could bring.

Lina turned her face up and saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at her. "Gourry?"

"How are you feeling?" He spoke in a whisper barely louder than hers.

"Not so hot." She stretched her arm out and was relieved to see that it hadn't gotten any worse. She dropped it, snuggled against him, then realized that she was naked and he had apparently gotten a very good look before covering her with a blanket. "What the hell are you doing? I'm fine! Get out of here before your ass is a smear on the sidewalk."

"No." Gourry simply held her tighter. "I'm not leaving you."

"I'm naked!"

"I don't care!" His gaze skimmed her body, what he could see through the blanket. She waited for the inevitable breast joke, but it didn't come. Instead, his hold on her tightened further. "I'm not going to let you go through this alone."

"It's not your fight. It's my stupid mistake and I'm the one who'll pay the price." Lina glared at her arm. "Sis said that my quest for power would always come back to bite me. Guess I can tell her she's right."

"It wasn't a stupid mistake. You saved our lives by using Airlord's power."

"There could had been another way!"

"But, there wasn't." Gourry's voice was calm, a sharp contrast to Lina's near shout. "You did what you felt was best and there was nothing more you could do."

Lina fell silent and felt the hot tears sliding down her cheeks again. "What am I going to do if I lose my arm?"

"We'll deal with it."

Lina gave him a cryptic look. "We?"

"I'm not leaving you if you lose your arm." Gourry gave her a fierce look. "I told you, I'm protecting you for the rest of my life."

"That's insane. Don't you have someone waiting for you?" The question that she hesitated to ask during their search for the Claire Bible spilled out now. "Have you really thought it through? You could be saddled with a cripple. I won't be of much use without my right arm. Do you really want to stick with me then?"

"Lina, I love you for who you are, not because of how many arms you have. We'll find a way to make it work."

The declaration was said in such a simple, causal manner that Lina gawked at him._ Did he just...no, that's crazy. You don't just go tossing around words like that! Stupid Gourry. I never know whether or not he realizes what he's saying. _Even so, the declaration did make her feel better and she settled against him once more and closed her eyes. Maybe they could make it work.

-----

The next time she woke, it was due to a ray of sunlight streaming through the window. It hit Lina's eyes in such a manner that she automatically threw up her arm to shield it. Then they opened and she got a good look at her arm. Her right arm. Her healing arm, which was no longer cracked but now was simply pink. The itching was almost gone.

She stared at it for so long that she nearly jumped when Gourry reach down and took her arm in his hand. They stared at it, then exchanged goofy, exhilarated grins. She threw her arms around him and they hugged, clinging to each other tightly for several minutes. She pulled away, fixed her eyes on his mouth. "Gourry?"

"Hmm?" His eyes were on her lips as well and her toes curled as she imagined how his kiss would feel.

"If you're not out of my room is less than three seconds, I am kicking your ass so hard that Zel's gonna find a very unexpected gift land at his feet from this continent."

He moved like lightning, dumping her from his lap in the process. Lina landed on her butt, the blanket falling away and exposing her completely. Gourry stopped at the door and tossed a grin over his shoulder. "You know, for being flat-chested, you've got a nice body."

Downstairs, Shizuri, Amelia and Lyos looked up at the ceiling as they heard a scream, then winced at the resulting explosion. "Burst Rondo," Amelia deduced. "We're still in one piece."

"I take it that Lina's arm's going to be fine?" Lyos asked.

Shizuri headed up the stairs. She stopped about halfway up, then shot a grin down at them. "I'd say Lina's going to be just fine. Gourry, on the other hand, is a different story completely."


	21. Living Like a Jellyfish

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place toward the end of the fifth novel and all of the spoken dialogue is taken verbatim from that novel. This was an exercise in writing from Gourry's point of view after a discussion about Gourry thinking about so much that he drifts off into his own world and doesn't think about what's going on around him.

-----

Story #21: "Living Like a Jellyfish"

"Let me get to the point. I want you to deal with Grouj. Or rather ... Zanaffar."

We were following the strange-looking beast-man down the hallway. It wasn't the strangest-looking beast I'd ever seen, and I've seen some strange ones - Zel included. But, Zelgadiss is a pretty nice guy, even for someone who got his skin turned to stone.

I wasn't quite sure what was going on at this point. Everyone else looked real worried, even Lina. I don't think I've seen her look this worried since we were trying to stop Prince Phil from being killed. We stopped walking and the guy kept talking about something called a Zanaffar and how it was alive.

I glanced over and saw this interesting series of cracks running up the wall. Well, if this Zanaffar thing was a being, of course it would be alive. All monsters were alive to some degree. Even Mazoku are, I suppose, though they don't eat and breathe the same way we do. I do have to wonder though - if they don't eat or drink, does this mean Mazoku don't need to use the bathroom? I wonder if they sleep? I wonder if I should tell Lina about that Xelloss guy being a Mazoku?

Suddenly, Lina, Amelia and Zel gasped. I glanced up and saw that their faces were now the color of chalk - even Zel's, which was quite a feat. "Did something happen? Sorry, I think I missed it."

Lina's face went from white to purple about two seconds before she started growling at me. It was an interesting shade of purple as well. I'd put it at about an eight on the "Lina on a rampage" scale, which probably means I should pay attention.

"...body is entirely consumed, Zanaffar is complete!"

Uh oh. I frowned down at her and noticed that the color of Lina's face was quickly edging toward a blotchy purple-blue. Nine on the "Lina on a rampage" scale. "I still don't get it," I admitted a bit sheepishly.

Lina didn't say anything for a moment and I wondered what would happen if she literally exploded. Then again, I don't think I would like if she exploded. I like having her around too much. Besides, do humans really explode? No, wait, spontaneously combust. That's it!

"Okay!" Her voice had risen to a near shout and this time I forced myself to listen. "Pretend that Zanaffar's a sketchy guy who sweettalks a girl - that's Grouji - by saying things like, 'I'll always be there for you' and 'I'll take care of you forever' and all of that. But then, after he's won her trust, he eats her food, steals her money and kicks her out of her own house!" Lina threw her arms up. "You get it now?"

Funny. In a way, this Zanaffar guy sounds a bit like Lina herself. She likes to go sweettalk people, eat their food and steal their money. She's even a bit sketchy. But, this Zanaffar has got to be the bad guy. Well, what do we normally do with the bad guys? Duh, we kill them. Why didn't Lina just say that to begin with?

Because she was staring at me with that particularly deadly look of hers, I slowly nodded. "I think so. Sorta," I told her, then placed my hands on my hips. "So, we just have to kill this guy, right?"

Lina growled and whirled around to start peppering the beast-man with questions again. She didn't say I was wrong, so I suppose I was right. Still, I suppose I should pay closer attention, even though I wish sometimes that Lina would explain things just a bit more clearly.


	22. Grace Coming Out of the Void

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place toward the end of the fifth novel and all of the spoThis story takes place some time after the end of the novels/anime. This is based off of my interpretation of Gourry's past after reading through some interviews with Hajime Kanzaka and reading his short story, "The Things That He Sees Beyond the Point of His Sword."

-----

Story #22: "Grace Coming Out of the Void"

Nighttime was when everything seemed to take on a relaxing pace, even for time-hardened travelers such as Lina and Gourry. In the months since their marriage, it seemed to be even a better time of day than before. There was good food to be eaten, drink to indulge in, even the occasional story or song. Then they would head to their room, snuggle together and talk.

"I never thought it would be like this," Gourry admitted as he ran his hand through Lina's hair while she sprawled on the bed on her stomach, absently flipping through a book.

She glanced up at him. "Like how?"

"That I would be so happy."

She folded her arms atop the book and rested her chin on them. "We've known each other what...five years now? It's hard for me to remember a time when you're not happy, Gourry."

He ruffled her hair. "I thought I would be dead by now."

The simple admission stunned Lina. She pushed herself into a half-sitting position. "What? That's ridiculous. You're an expert swordsman! You've helped defeat two pieces of Shabranigdu and have held your own against Gaav, Dynast and other high-level Mazoku. It'd be awful hard to take you down."

"It's not Mazoku." Gourry sat up and glanced across the room at his sheathed sword. "It's the Sword of Light."

"It's gone. You have the Blast Sword now."

He frowned, looking almost as if he had just remembered that fact for the first time. "Yes. I imagine word has gotten back to them."

Intrigued, she shifted to see him better. "Back to who?"

"My family." He laid back down, pulling her with him. He started stroking her hair again as she pushed the book beneath her pillow. "I told you how I took the Sword of Light when I was 17 and left home. By all rights, it should had gone to my brother. But he didn't live up to what I thought the sword should represent to our family."

He pushed aside his bangs. "Do you see that?"

Lina sat up once more and cast a low-level Lighting spell. Her eyes widened when she saw the white crescent-shaped scar on his forehead. She'd never seen it - his bangs had always covered his face. She ran her fingers over the puckered, slightly raised flesh. "Some sort of branding iron," she muttered.

"There's another." He sat up and pulled his hair aside so she could see another scar that ran the length of his neck.

"That's why your hair's long," she mummered.

"Look at my back."

She pulled up his pajama top and ran her fingers over the scar tissue criss-crossing his back. She had felt it, had seen it when they were being intimate. But she never questioned it. Lina knew Gourry had gotten seriously injured fighting in Sairaag before he met her. She thought it had came from then.

She leaned her cheek against his bare back, anger rolling through her. "Your brother, right?"

"Yeah."

She would had given anything to see the bastard who'd done this to her husband. He had a Dragon Slave and a Ragna Blade with his name written on it. How many years had Gourry endured this? And how had he be able to come out of it the good, kind, cheerful person that he was with such an evil presence in his life?

"The ironic thing is...my family more than likely sees me as the villain for taking the sword. Isn't that funny?"

She pulled away from him, turned his face toward hers. "No," she replied firmly. "You're not the villain. Don't ever think that. We've run into the most vile of villains, Gourry. You're not one of them. You're a hero."

He grinned. "Fancy words coming from someone a good many people would consider a villain themselves."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. So I got carried away with that last Dragon Slave. It only took out half of the town! And besides, they did hire us to get rid of the bandits!"

He laughed and caught her up in a fierce hug.


	23. The Heart of Your Gesture

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** The following story is a Christmas gift to The Flowergirl. It just also happens to be written for the 52flavours claim. I originally began working on it last year, when the picture from Dragon Magazine of Lina and Gourry in the snow was discovered. This story is inspired by that picture. It's set after the 15th novel and refers to events that took place there.

-----

Story #23: "The Heart of Your Gesture"

In the days and months since the fall of the second piece of Shabranigdu, a peace settled over the lands that were once bound by the magical Mazoku barrier as said Mazoku retreated to lick their wounds, so to speak. From what Xelloss had insinuated, quite a lot of Mazoku had been taken down in the past three years and even _they _needed to recoup their strength.

It was with no small amount of pride that Lina knew she was the primary cause behind this sudden depletion of the Mazoku population. She was careful not to rub that fact in...much.

Gourry's suggestion at heading to Zefielia seemed like the most logical place to go. In their three years together, it and Elmekia were about the only places the two of them hadn't ventured - mainly because it skirted too close to their pasts. Zefielia was Lina's home, and waiting for her there was Luna. There were many nights that Lina woke in a cold sweat from having a vision of walking into the kitchen of her parents' home to find Luna sitting at the table, calmly sharpening a butcher knife.

Elmekia was Gourry's home and while he was cheerful regardling most things, any suggestion about going near his homeland caused his voice to tighten and his mood to sour. The darkest look Lina had ever seen cross his face had come when she lightly suggested looking for an artifact in a particular town in Elmekia. She immediately distracted him by pretending to abandon her apple pie.

Elmekia was out.

But it was getting colder and soon it would be nearly impossible to do any sort of decent traveling. Lina had no desire to be stuck in the mountains trying to reach Zefiel City when the worst of the winter snows came. They needed to either head south or find some lodging for the winter.

The letter arrived while they were squabbling over this very fact over breakfast, so conviently that Lina was about convinced that it was merely a ruse to get them in a certain location at a certain time. She pulled the parchment from the envelope, fully expecting it to be a terse letter from her sister demanding to know why she'd been traveling with a single, attractive male for three years, had yet to rectify the "single" part of that situation and to also demand her to come home _now_.

To her relief, it was from Amelia instead.

"She wants us to come visit for a few weeks," Lina read to Gourry as she absently fought him for sausages with her free hand. "Saillune's starting some type of winter holiday and she wants us to come."

"Doesn't everywhere have one of those?" Gourry switched his attention to Lina's cold scrambled eggs.

"A lot of places have them...get your hand out of my eggs _now_..., but maybe this is something different." Lina rolled the parchment up and smacked Gourry's wrists with it until he backed off. "In any case, this is free lodging and all the food we can eat until the worst of winter passes. Then we'll start out for Zefielia."

Gourry paused in shoveling in the remainder of his meal, his eyebrows arching in surprise. He chewed several times, then swallowed. "We're going to Zefielia?"

Lina rolled her eyes at him. "It was your idea, remember?"

"Yeah. I just didn't think you were going to go through with it. You've been stalling for three weeks already."

She glared at him. "I have not!"

He glared back. "Have too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

Lina's fist began to glow with magic. "Want to disagree with me aga...hey! That's my last sausage!"

It wasn't very often that Gourry managed to win an argument. He silently crowed over being right for a change and celebrated by enjoying that last sausage to the fullest.

-----

Amelia was delighted to see them, exclaiming over how they had both changed in the year since they had parted ways after the defeat of Hellmaster Phibrizzo. She commented that both of them looked older and more mature. As she talked, Lina caught a glimpse of herself and Gourry in a wide mirror that was behind Amelia and was amazed at what she saw.

Gourry especially looked older and thinner, though she knew he was only 25 years old. She had grown just a smidgen taller, which was more apparent standing next to Amelia. Both of their faces appeared lined and tired and she knew they both had still-healing injuries hidden by their clothing thanks to the fight against their friend. _If you didn't know us, you'd never realized we've been through so much..._

"Lina-san?" A gentle voice and Amelia's hand on her arm broke Lina from her thoughts. "You look tired. Do you want to go rest? Your rooms are ready."

She didn't respond. Instead, she allowed Amelia to lead her away while her mind lingered on the fact that somehow, things had changed. Her gaze met Gourry's as they ascended the stairs and they shared a moment of complete understanding.

Somehow, the fact that they'd been to hell and back together on a repeated basis hadn't been lost on him either.

-----

She didn't sleep well and it made her angry. Lina threw her arm over her forehead and glowered at the sunlight that crawled across the ceiling. She only got snatches of rest among the hazy dreams of fighting Luke and what could happen when she saw her family. She sighed, turned onto her side and punched pillow once before getting up.

She opened the door to get her clean laundry and found her clothes folded neatly in a basket with a large package sitting on top of them. Lina's eyes lit up and she snatched the basket. _Presents!_ She hastily abandoned the clothes and tore into the paper wrapping, then blinked.

It was from Amelia. There was a sheet of elegant stationary with a brief note on it. Lina picked it up. _I had these made for you. I guessed at your size, but they should fit. It's getting pretty cold out and you'll look nice for the outdoor part of the winter holidays. Gourry-san has some new clothes as well. It's a small token for everything you've done for me._

Lina picked up the garments. It was a long, red coat with a matching hat and a pair of pink mittons. She dressed, then pulled on the coat and hat before scowling at the mittons. "It's not even that cold out," she muttered. At least, it hadn't been when she and Gourry arrived. Still, Amelia would want to see her in the gear she had made. Lina glanced at herself in the mirror and tilted her head to the side. _Not bad. I look like an actual girl for a change. _

Lina walked headed to the small parlor where she knew Amelia liked to eat breakfast. Her stomach rumbled at the elaborate spread of food on a long table in the back. She grabbed a plate and began filling it with eggs, sausage and toast. She started to eat almost as soon as she sat at the table. She wanted to be on her second plate before Gourry joined them.

She heard soft footsteps behind her and didn't have to glance up from her food to see who it was. "Hey, Amelia."

Amelia returned the greeting, loaded up her own plate and sat opposite of Lina. She beamed at her. "They look good on you, Lina-san. I'm glad you like them."

"They're okay," Lina replied, tugging at the hat rim. "Bit fancier than what I'm used to."

"Every girl should have some nice things."

Lina picked up her coffee and smirked. "So, you're admitting I'm a girl after all this time?"

"Now that would be a question for Gourry-san," Amelia said cheekily. "Speaking of him, I wanted to tell you both that we're having a gift exchange tonight. It's something that Daddy wants to try out. We give those we care about gifts to let them know how much we care about them. Your clothes are my gift to you, but I figured that you could use them now."

"That doesn't sound bad," Lina said between bites of bacon. She frowned and tried to remember the last time she bought a gift. She didn't consider herself to be the gift-giving type. But she would be getting gifts in return and that wasn't a bad thing at all. "I guess I'll head on a walk then and buy you something. What the hell do you get a princess to begin with?"

Amelia grinned, convinced that Lina hadn't realized she was talking out loud. "It comes from the heart, Lina-san. It doesn't matter how much it costs as long as it's an expression of your affection."

"You've been reading too many romance novels again," Lina muttered.

Amelia flushed and didn't say anything else.

——-

Twenty minutes later, Gourry came into the parlor and made a beeline for the buffet. He grabbed two plates, balancing one in the crook of his arm while filling both of them.

Amelia still sat at the table and watched with a grin. "Gourry-san, you don't have to worry. Lina-san's already finished."

"She is?" He set the plates down in the space across from her. "But there's still food."

"I had more brought up."

"Oh." Gourry dug into his breakfast with enthusiasm, but nowhere near as messy as he was when Lina was there fighting over it with him. "Where is she?"

"She's gone out to get gifts for tonight." Amelia explained the gift exchange they were having to him. She gave a slightly wistful sigh. "I sort of hoped my letter had reached Zelgadiss-san as well, but it's so hard to track him down these days. In any case, our gift exchange is pretty much going to be the three of us."

Gourry chewed thoughtfully. _Presents? That shouldn't be so hard. I even have money for a change since Lina hasn't made me pay for any meals in the past few weeks._

——-

_Presents? This is insane! How the hell do I buy Gourry and Amelia presents?_

Lina wandered in and out of stores, happily stacking up various magical items and books in her hands before a nagging part of her conscience reminded her that she wasn't suppose to be shopping for herself this time. She groused over the injustice of it all. She really did need that book on rare shamanistic spells and it was at such a good price too! She finally walked out of the store with it. So she bought a gift for herself. Nothing wrong with making a necessary purchase. She stowed the book and kept going.

It started to snow by the time she finished haggling over the price of the book. It had cost her 25 gold, but the bookstore owner had wanted 50. Lina knew that really the book cost at least ten times that amount, but the merchant's blood in her refused to walk away without haggling the price down a bit more. She raised a mittoned hand to her forehead and squinted up at the dark clouds. _Damn, I can't even tell what time it is. I guess I spent more time in that store than I thought._

Lina shuffled down the street, snowflakes sticking to her new clothes. She wrapped her arms around herself and grumbled over the weather. Screw this. She could go back to the palace and come up with something there. Maybe she could even convince Amelia to put it off for a day or so.

She almost missed the kittens completely and it was only because she nearly stepped on one that she stopped to begin with. Lina backed up a few steps and blinked at the very small ball of brown and white fluff, sitting in the middle of the sidewalk and crying. She picked it up. It fit in the palm of her hand and had to be just a few days old.

She spotted the discarded box a few steps away in an alley, filled with more kittens. Anger rolled through her for a moment. She was no stranger to seeing animals being abused and discarded, but it didn't mean that she liked it. She had no place in her lifestyle for any sort of animal, though.

Then the idea struck. _Amelia…_ Lina grinned. One present down, one to go.

She removed her hat. Cupping it in one hand, she scooped up the kittens with the other and deposited them in there. They started to climb over each other, trying to get a good look at her and mewing whatever was was on their minds. They didn't try to wiggle away, but Lina figured that in their situation she would definitely choose a warm hat over the cold box in the snow.

"Okay, all of you. It's time to head back to the palace to your new mama," she told them.

"Lina!"

She had taken two steps and froze when she heard Gourry calling her. She pivoted and saw him coming toward her. Her breath hitched slightly when she noticed the new clothes that Amelia had given him. It was an outfit designed to be worn in snow, much like hers, but it was form-fitting and made of a light green cloth. He wore a large red cloak that seemed to match her own outfit with the hood pulled up to shield his head from the snow.

She waved to him and waited, shivering slightly. She hated the cold and it definitely made a difference wearing no hat.

"What do you think you're doing, going around without a hat on? Did you lose it?" He was about six feet away now and she could see the scolding look he normally had when she did something that put her own life in danger needlessly - or had gone out scorching bandits behind his back again.

She turned so he could see the bundle of fluff she carried. "What else do you suggest I carry these in? I'm taking them back to Amelia." _I dare you to defy the power of cute_, she silently added.

He stopped and his face gentled as the kittens settled down in the hat. Lina almost smirked. Out of the two of them, Gourry really was the soft-hearted one. But these little animals could probably make even grumpy Zelgadiss smile. She pondered sending one to him and another to Xelloss, just to have the Mazoku's face go green at the ball of fluff. The corners of her mouth twitched with that thought.

Lina almost didn't hear the rustle of cloth behind her and she clutched the kittens tighter as she turned to face whatever was behind her. Her jaw fell as cloth swirled around her shoulders and she suddenly smelled soap, new cloth and man as Gourry wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. Her cheeks reddened as she noticed he was staring at her with that strange, intense look that he gave her at times - especially when he thought she wasn't looking.

They were so close, nearly touching now. He draped his arm around her shoulders as she kept her neck craned to look at him. They had touched each other plenty of time, usually trying to save the other's neck or for her to throttle him. But this was different now. Lina wondered what her chances were of drawing back to a safe zone, but with his arm and the cloak now wrapped around her and the kittens in her arms, it would be a messy incident indeed.

She stared at him, eyes wide as he brought his other hand around to rest on her shoulder and bent down. Before Lina could react in any manner, his lips brushed against hers. Instinctively, she stretched on her toes and wrapped her free arm around his neck, returning the kiss. After a moment, she broke it and pulled away as the kittens, who had watched the humans with unabashed curiosity, started to squirm once more.

Without saying another word, they returned to the palace.

-----

As predicted, Amelia cooed over the kittens. Her eyes filled with tears and Lina immediately headed for the stairs, hoping to avoid the coming speech on why rescuing kittens was a just move and how Lina should be commended for it.

Amelia cradled the hat carefully. "Lina-san, I never thought of you as saving kittens from the snow without expecting some profit in return."

Lina didn't bother to hide rolling her eyes. "Amelia, I don't go around allowing animals to freeze to death. I do have a heart somewhere in here."

She readied a second retort, but by this time Amelia had swapped her focus to Gourry. "Did you remember to get Lina-san's present, Gourry-san?"

Gourry stared at her in shock. No, he'd completely forgotten. It seemed like all rational thought had fled once he'd spotted Lina and the way she looked in that red outfit Amelia had given her, cradling those kittens while standing in the snow. Panicked, his gaze darted between the two women and he knew he was doomed.

"Amelia, I didn't…"

"Yes, he did," Lina suddenly announced.

Amelia and Gourry's heads snapped around and she gave them a bemused smile. "Gourry gave me a very nice present," Lina said quietly.

Amelia sighed with relief. She loved Lina, she really did. But she didn't want the palace to become a war zone between the couple because Gourry had pulled one of what Lina called his jellyfish moments again. "That's very good. What did he give you, Lina-san?"

Gourry opened his mouth to ask Lina what he gave her, but the glare she shot at him had him closing it again.

"A very special gift," Lina told Amelia and went upstairs.


	24. Beneath These Hands

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This is another post-series story set in an unknown future where Lina and Gourry are parents. The initial inspiration for it came off of a theory regarding Valgaav's rebirth.

-----

Story #24 - "Beneath These Hands"

Even at the tender age of 5, Emilie enjoyed her sleep as much as her mother did. She didn't want to give it up for anyone - not even her father, whom she adored more than anyone in the world besides her mother.

She grunted softly as her father started shaking her awake. "No, Papa," she mummered sleepily, snuggling deeper into the quilts. "Wanna sleep. Go bother Mama."

Gourry nearly laughed at how she sounded exactly like Lina - who was doing the same thing in their room and had just as groggily ordered him to go bother Emilie. He pulled the little girl out of bed and hefted her into his arms. There were some things that were worth waking up early for, and he had decided this was one of them.

Emilie's head lolled on his shoulder and she stuck her thumb in her mouth as she tried her best to go back to sleep. But the sunlight streaming through the windows hurt her eyes too much and she gave up, rubbing her eyes as she was carried outside still wearing her nightgown.

Gourry put Emilie down and she blinked when she noticed they were near the small chicken coop he had built a few months earlier. She enjoyed going out to find eggs hidden in the grass and narrowly miss getting pecked in the process. There was one nest though that she was told to avoid, and it was that one that Gourry was reaching in for at the moment.

"Some of them are already open," he said, half to himself, half to her. "But this one...it's just about ready!"

He crawled out of the coop and held open his hands in front of Emilie. "Come here, watch the egg, Emilie."

She approached it, not quite sure what was going to happen. The egg started to move around and she bit her lip, suddenly apprehensive. What was happening to it? Was it going to turn into something evil? Would it hurt her Papa? Her little hands balled into fists. If the egg was going to attack her papa, she would take care of whatever it was.

Gourry laughed at the suddenly fierce expression that crossed Emilie's features. "Relax," he urged her. "It's not anything bad. Look. You're missing it."

She glanced down and saw that the egg was cracking. The small cracks grew bigger as flashes of something orange started to emerge from them. Then the egg split into pieces as a yellow ball of fluff struggled its way out of the shell.

Her jaw fell at the little chick kicking the remains of its old home behind. "It's a baby!"

"It's a chick," her father replied and stroked one long finger over its fine feathers. "Go on, you can touch it."

Emilie reached out and tentatively cupped her hand over the chick. "It's soft!" She giggled as the chick rooted beneath her hand and pecked at her fingers. "It hurts a little too," she added.

He lowered himself to the dewey grass and used his free hand to guide Emilie into his lap. Carefully, he tipped his other hand so Emilie held the chick cradled in both hands.

She giggled again as the chick explored. "That tickles!"

She fell quiet as the chick settled down and its breathing slowed as it fell asleep. Emilie yawned and leaned against her father's chest, his heart beating beneath her ear. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer.

Lina found them an hour later - father, daughter and chick - all asleep by the chicken coop. It struck her as a perfect moment of beauty and one she wouldn't had appreciated 13 years earlier when she initially met Gourry. She never imagined herself to be where she was right now. Oh, she knew she would eventually settle down. Luna would had forced her to. But some part of her always feared that life would be monotonous if that happened.

She smirked. Life most certainly was not boring around Gourry or Emilie - especially since an angry hen had just decided to start pecking Gourry's thigh.

He startled, almost dumping Emilie and the chick out of his lap. She watched as he realized what happened and laughed, taking the chick and tipping it back into the henhouse. Then he picked Emilie up and carried her inside.

By that point, Lina was glaring at the stove. She was starving, it was Gourry's turn to fix breakfast and she didn't want to wait. She nearly yelled at him, but immediately halted when she saw he still held their daughter. Instead, she turned her back on him and started to hunt for some bacon to fry.

"I swear, you use our kid like a shield," she muttered as she located the last of the bacon, sniffed at it, then wrinkled her nose. "Yuck. I wouldn't feed this to Dilgear even."

"I was going to cook!" Gourry defended himself, his hold on Emilie tightening. Okay, so maybe he did use Emilie as a shield...sometimes. "I went out to get the eggs and saw them hatching. I figured it's something Emilie needed to see. My mom showed me when I was younger."

Lina dropped the rancid bacon in the slop bucket and turned back to Gourry, surprised. They both were painfully aware of the hell that his childhood had dissolved into after his father's death, which caused him to block out most of his memories from that time. Even after their trip to Elmekia, he still had a hard time facing what had happened. It made the moment she witnessed even more bittersweet.

It was those feelings that carried her over to his side, that placed her hand on his arm as she stretched on her toes, pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered, "You're a wonderful father," in his ear. His answering smile made her feel like she stumbled upon a huge cache of gold, gems and artifacts, all free for the taking.

"Well, then," Lina said in a brisk tone as she started to shake Emilie awake. "Let's go somewhere else and get food. You're paying."

"No fair!" He protested, but she merely stuck her tongue at him, grabbed Emilie and raced upstairs to help her dress.


	25. The Need to Hold Still

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This is based off of a true story involving the author and a batch of sugar cookies. She does have pictures from this event!

-----

Story #25: The Need to Hold Still

"Um, Gourry-san?"

Gourry cracked open one eye, took a moment to orient himself, then glanced toward the entrance to Saillune's royal library. The weather was too rotten to consider practicing outside and Zelgadiss and Prince Phil both had disappeared to some other part of the palace. Boredom had driven Gourry to seek out something to do. Wandering around, he'd stumbled upon the library and found a few books on swordsmanship that kept his interest - mainly because they were mostly pictures. But even then, the books hadn't kept him occupied very long and he drifted off to sleep on the overstuffed leather couch.

Amelia hovered in the doorway, not looking much like a crown princess at the moment. She wore an apron covered in flour and her dark hair was dusted with it as well. She had her hands clasped behind her back and was toeing at the carpet.

Whatever she had to tell him wasn't good.

He sat up, slightly alarmed, the forgotten book falling to the floor in the process. "Is something wrong, Amelia?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, no! Nothing serious!" Amelia waved her hands at him. "Well, it _is_ a bit serious, if you consider the effect that it's having on Lina-san but..."

This didn't sound good at all. Gourry got to his feet, leaving the book on the sofa. "What's wrong with Lina?"

Amelia chewed on her bottom lip. "Well, remember when I decided I wanted to bake cookies? And I talked Lina-san into helping?"

Gourry frantically searched his memory for any scrap of that conversation, then remembered it - mainly because Lina had promised to bring him some cookies. He walked over to Amelia and clasped her shoulder, giving her a gentle smile. "Lina ate all the cookies, didn't she?"

"Actually, she didn't," Amelia replied. "You see, we were trying out a new recipe and Lina-san is actually very good in the kitchen." She gave Gourry a sly smile. "She said her sister made her learn how when she was younger. In any case, she was the first one done and we put this sugar glaze on the cookies. She wanted to try them and so had three cookies. Just three! They weren't even that big!"

Gourry frowned. "So, Lina ate just three cookies? I guess that's good news." He scratched his head thoughtfully. Lina wasn't really known for self-restraint. He cheered. That meant more cookies for him!

"Well, it's not that, it's..."

"Gourry!"

Before Amelia could tell him anymore, Lina suddenly appeared out of nowhere, latching onto Gourry's waist as tight as she could. She squeezed him so tightly that he could barely breath.

"Lina...choking...me," he gasped, trying to peel her off him.

She tugged at his shirt. "You'vegottocomeseethecookiesaredoneandthey'resogoodIonlyhadthreebutthenIhadthreemore..."

"You had three _more_, Lina-san?" Amelia wailed. Gourry blinked at her, amazed that she could understand the hyperactive sorceress.

"...andtheytastesogoodsiswouldbeproudofmeIdidn'tforgetwhatshetaughtmeIloveyouyoubigjellyfishcanIsleepnow?" Lina ended the tirade by slumping against Gourry, falling asleep immediately.

He grabbed her before she hit the floor and swung her up in his arms, bridal-style. He eyed Amelia warily. "Amelia, what was in those cookies?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary! But I think there's a lot of sugar in the glaze and Lina-san did put more on the cookie than the recipe called for...so I think she's high on sugar." Amelia managed a shaky smile. "She was zipping around the kitchen earlier. I've seen Lina-san be energetic before, but never hyper."

"Look at it this way. At least she didn't blow up anything."

"Every day that passes without Lina-san destroying a section of the palace is a good day indeed," Amelia agreed.

-----

Lina opened her eyes and gingerly felt her forehead. She had a pounding headache. It felt like someone had decided to take a few of her own spells and lob them back at her. She turned onto her side and noticed rain falling outside the window of the suite she and Gourry were sharing. Whatever function the Saillune Royal Court had held must had been a doozy.

"Good afternoon, sunshine!"

She shifted until she was in a sitting position, catching only a glimpse of Gourry sitting across the room watching her. Before she could ask him what he was doing in her room, her head throbbed and she sank back to the pillow with a moan.

"Gourry, go find Amelia. Have her cast a Dicleary on me. What did I drink last night and how much of it did I drink?"

"You didn't drink anything other than normal. And that...whatever spell you said won't work. You got that way eating cookies this morning."

Lina cracked an eye open, just enough to give him a disbelieving glare. "Cookies."

"That's what Amelia said. You two were baking cookies and you ate a few. There was too much sugar in them and you got really hyper and started running everywhere. Then you found me and passed out."

"Cookies," she groaned and slung an arm over her forehead. "The mighty, beautiful, powerful sorcery genius Lina Inverse brought down by a batch of sugar cookies."

"Well, they were good cookies," he supplied helpfully. "I even had one."

"That's not the point!" she wailed.

He crossed the room and dropped into the plush chair next to the bed. He yawned and rested his feet on the ottoman. "Amelia said you'll sleep it off. We can both take a nap."

"You can sleep in your own room!" Lina shot at him, then sighed when she saw that Gourry had instantly fallen asleep. She stared at him for a moment before heaving a great sigh and grabbing the extra blanket off the foot of her bed. She tossed it onto his lap and he grunted.

She dozed off and on until around dusk when Lina realized her headache was gone. So she laid there, listening to the sound of Gourry's deep breathing and the clock ticking across the room. Because they were in Saillune's royal palace, thick walls blocked any outside noise from reaching them - unlike the paper-thin ones that seemed to be a hallmark of most inns. There was nothing coming after them, really nothing pressing to search for. They could just relax, enjoy life and do little things such as bake cookies - though getting the sugar rush to end all sugar rushes had not been pleasant.


	26. Lost in Order to Become Precious

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note:** This story takes place during the last arc of Slayers Next and was written originally as a birthday fic for **Navvy**.

-----

Story #26: "Lost in Order to Become Precious"

The sun was a little too bright and the silence a little too loud as the ragtag group of travelers made their way toward Sairaag. As they grew closer to the remains of the once-grand city, that silence grew as their thoughts turned inward to the battle ahead of them.

Sylphiel's face grew paler as the hours slipped by, visions of one of the most powerful spells in the world flashing before her eyes as she recalled how her home, her father had been destroyed while she hovered helplessly above the ground in a bubble safe. In the year since the battle, she couldn't shake the survivor's guilt. She should have died along with her city, and no amount of convincing from her uncle or the few people she confided in could make her change her mind. She would like to think she survived for _his_ sake, but… Tears slipped down her cheeks as she glanced out the corner of her eye at the leader of their group.

Amelia wrung her hands as the huge white dome emerged on the edge of the horizon. She bit her lip, fidgeted, and tried not to obsess over the upcoming battle. Her goal was clear: Strike fear into the black Mazoku heart of Hellmaster Phibrizzo through the power of justice. It was a noble goal and one her father would be proud of. Still, she didn't want to think of the measures Lina might have to take in order to defeat the Hellmaster. Her mind acknowledged that Lina might have to cast the Giga Slave if all else failed. She traveled with Lina despite knowing that because she believed in her with all of her heart, because she knew if she was in Lina's position, she would do the exact same thing.

Zelgadiss watched Amelia out of the corner of his eye, a little more than he intended to. At first, he did so because she seemed so preoccupied in her thoughts that he was positive she would trip over every rock and stick in their path. He even found himself kicking various obstacles out of her path just so they wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of her accidents. He stared at the buildings of Sairaag and mentally cursed his grandfather once more. He placed all the blame on Rezo. If he hadn't started the chain of events that got the Mazoku interested in Lina to begin with, they wouldn't be here right now and the one that deserved to be there the most wouldn't be missing. He hoped that Lina wouldn't act rashly, but he knew what – no _who_ – was at stake. He wouldn't put it past her to do whatever it took to get him back, no matter what the risk.

Lina knew she should be thinking about the battle, but her heart refused to obey her. After all, she knew what it might come down to and she was prepared to fight. She knew her spells, knew the capabilities of her magic. That wouldn't be a problem.

So her mind drifted to the ghost walking among them, the one that everyone didn't acknowledge. They all knew it was there. Sometimes, the wind would kick up and Lina would catch a whiff of earth and spice that caused her to glance to her left, expecting to see a familiar figure towering over her. She expected to see the figure catch her eye and smile brightly at her in a way that made her heart roll in her chest. Instead, she found a terrible emptiness where he should be and it was almost like he'd died.

If she concentrated hard enough, she could hear his voice call her name and say something so absurdly stupid that it made her feel both exhilarated and frustrated at the same time. She never thought she cared for him so deeply until he was gone. Every step they took toward their destiny increased the crushing pressure on her chest that seemed to be a permanent fixture these days. Tears threatened for the umpteenth time and it took every bit of her willpower to force them back. She was going to throttle him when she saw him again, for making her worry so much that it robbed her of all her senses. She wanted more than anything to hear him say that he believed in her, that everything was going to be all right. Instead, she heard the wind and the oppressive silence and knew that everything wasn't all right and may never be again.

As the group entered Sairaag, the sun grew brighter and the silence more oppressive. Even though it was daylight, even though he was only captured and not dead, the ghost of Gourry Gabriev haunted them all.


	27. The Imperious Life

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note**: This story takes shortly before episode 1 of Slayers Revolution. If you haven't seen it yet … why haven't you?? Go, the fansubs are up on YouTube! Although we don't know where Revolution comes in regarding series timeline yet, for now I'm placing it both after the events of TRY and of the manga "Knight of Aqualord."

Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж

Story #27: "The Imperious Life"

When Lina Inverse was 13 years old, she set out to explore the world. Her magical skills grew, she became a seasoned traveler, and she discovered the fine art of liberating loot from bandits. It served a two-fold purpose - lining her own pockets and dealing justice to bandits who had wrongfully stole the money in the first place. Since the bandits had already stolen the money to begin with, Lina considered it an honor to liberate the coin and circulate it back into the economy. After all, she had no idea where they got the money from, so she couldn't exactly give it back now, could she? And it would be such a waste to hold onto such wealth…

It was quite a different story seven years later.

"Nothing." Lina pored over the wanted board in the general store located on the border of Lyzielle. She grunted and turned as the door's bells tinkled behind her as it opened. "Did you find anything?" she asked Gourry as he entered the store.

"I found a new restaurant opened since the last time we were here!" Gourry waved the flyer excitedly.

"Really?" Lina's eyes lit up and she snatched it from him. "Did you find any bandit posters?"

"Was I supposed to be looking?"

Lina looked up into clueless eyes and groaned. "Gourry!"

A grin cracked over his face. "Just kidding! I know I was suppose to find bandit posters."

Lina nearly smacked him. Gourry, she thought, had the oddest sense of humor - and at her expense too! "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Did you find any?"

"Any… Oh!" Gourry's eyes lit up, then he shook his head. "Nope!"

Lina's fist found the side of his head. "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" she screeched and shoved past him to head outside. Gourry shook off the blow, gave a smile and nod to the bewildered shop owners and hurried after Lina.

Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж

On the Lina Inverse scale of restaurants, she gave the new place a 6. Decent service, but the food didn't come out fast enough. The cooks had bawled at the order she and Gourry put in and only shut up when Lina shook her bag of coins at them and offered two options: a) they either accept her money and serve them food or b) have the restaurant turned into kindling.

They wisely went with option A.

Lina soaked a dry piece of bread in gravy and sat back, lazily eating it while Gourry finished devouring his meal. She took a bite and sighed. "This is the sixth town we've been in since we got back from Kunan," she mused. "We haven't seen hide or hair of any sort bandits. The one group we did come across barely had any loot to speak of. We're tapping into our finds from Kunan already."

"Maybe they're extinct," Gourry said between mouthfuls of mashed potato.

Lina narrowed her eyes at him. "Extinct?"

"Maybe we took care of 'em all."

"That's impossible!" Lina threw up her hands. "We've been gone what, almost three years? First to Filia's country, then to Kunan. Surely the bandits would had come out of their collective hidey holes at some point." She considered this. "Though, by the time we got to Kunan, word about us had spread out there."

"So… the bandits are still hiding because they're scared of you?"

"As if they have any reason to be scared of me! If you didn't know me and heard about my brave and glamorous deeds, would you be scared of me?"

Gourry put down his fork, considered, then nodded vigorously. Lina growled in response.

"Maybe we need to find some other way to get money," Gourry suggested as Lina grumbled beneath her breath about stupid bandits and even stupider partners.

"I'm perfectly aware of that fact!" Lina shot back and mulled over what Gourry had said. Bandit camps going extinct? It was a good possibility. After all, there were only so many bandit camps around. She wasn't surprised that she - either by herself or with Gourry or other nameless accomplices - had taken out a good many of them that lay within the barrier lands. If word about her bandit looting had gotten back from Kunan or Filia's country, then that would be incentive for them to remain in hiding.

"I suppose you're right," she finally conceded. "The only way to find more bandit loot is to have more bandits, and if they're so dazzled by my gorgeous body and superb intellect that they're hiding with their tails between their legs, well I suppose I need to do my part. After all, I am a kind and benevolent soul, don't you think?"

Gourry chose that exact moment to pop an entire roll into his mouth. She took his silence as agreement.

"So, we must do our part to repopulate the bandits of the known world!" Lina stuck her knife in the air as she proclaimed this.

"How are we going to make money?"

Lina slumped back and glowered at him. "Damn it, you have a point. Some way to make money…" She tilted her chair back on two legs and stared at the ceiling, then glanced as far back as she could. She spotted something on the far wall, then accidentally tilted all the way back, landing on the floor in a heap.

"Lina?" Gourry peered over the edge of the table, and then helped himself to the last of her bread.

"I got it!" Lina shoved the remains of the chair aside and dashed over to the notice board next to the door. She yanked a flyer off and shoved it in Gourry's face as he meandered over to her. "Pirates!"

"Pirates?" Gourry took the flyer and studied it. It was the single wanted poster in that town, announcing a reward for the track down of a pirate group known to loot ships off of the coast of the Alliance of Coastal States.

"Don't you see? There's not many bandits around, but there's plenty of pirates!" Lina grabbed it back from him. "We can get a boat and go pirate hunting!"

"Where are we going to get a boat?"

"Any town along the coast will have one." Lina sauntered out of the restaurant leaving the bill behind. Gourry dashed back, tossed coins on the table, and ran out after her.

"Can we sail a boat ourselves?" Gourry asked as he hurried to catch up.

"With those muscles of yours, pal, we could operate a tank!" Lina slapped Gourry's back and he grinned down at her, both knowing he'd be doing all the work while she took the glory.


	28. Truth and Peaches

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note**: This story takes place some time after the end of the anime and does not include the events of Slayers Evolution-R, but does refer Revolution. I actually wrote this story a couple months ago and forgot to post it. Oops. It was written after seeing a lovely picture that Lycorne did for me over on LiveJournal.

Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж

Story #28: "Truth and Peaches"

"I'm going to kill her. _So_ am going to kill her. Mark my words, Gourry, Naga is going to be taken _down_."

"Mmm hmm..." Gourry absently plucked at a loose thread on the duvet as Lina raged in front of the mirror a few feet away.

"First she pops up out of nowhere after being rid of her for the past what... six, seven years? And then she proceeds to inform me that her real identity is Princess Gracia ul Naga Saillune and that she's getting _married_. Naga, married! Who'd be crazy enough to take on her? But is that all? Noooo, then she has to get _Amelia_ in on the act! Amelia with her big eyes and her, 'Oh, Lina-san, it'll mean so much to my sister if you're one of her bridesmaids.' And the result?" Lina threw out her arms theatrically. "_This_ piece of monstrosity!"

Gourry glanced up. _This_ piece of monstrosity happened to be the bridesmaid gown that appeared outside their room earlier that morning in preparation for the royal wedding. It was cotton candy pink with white ruffles around the sleeves and hem and white lace around the square collar. A white sash circled Lina's waist and it sagged a little bit over her breasts. It all had the effect of making her look like a 6-year-old trying to play at being an adult and failing - badly.

Gourry wisely bit his lip and returned his attention back to finding loose threads on the duvet.

Lina snatched up the bouquet that had arrived with the flowers and jabbed it at him. "And you! You get off scot-free. I hate that even more than this dress! You can wear exactly what you're wearing right now and actually feel comfortable and look like a human being instead of a stick-thin ball of cotton candy fluff!"

Gourry had seen what the groomsmen were wearing, and it made the ridiculous outfit that Wizer fell once wore look tame by comparison. He thanked whatever deities, he'd forgotten their names, watching over them for sparing him from that.

"C'mon!" Lina invited. "Tell me what you think!"

"It doesn't look that bad, Lina," Gourry supplied helpfully. He sat up, plucked at the loose material over her dress. "Looks like they even left you room so you could stuff your bra."

Lina let out a short shriek and move forward to strangle Gourry. He scrambled off the bed quickly. "Stuff my bra?? I don't _wear_ a bra, as you damn well remember!"

"Well, there you go!" Gourry smiled, then ruffled Lina's hair, stopping her in her tracks. "And there's a bright side to this!"

"What bright side? Amelia forbade me from using magic during the ceremony no matter how obnoxious Naga gets. There's no buffet, and it's a pay bar - even for the wedding party! I get to be laughed at while Amelia looks like a pretty pretty princess. What bright side is this?"

"Well, when we get married, you can do all this back to them as revenge!" Gourry replied. He swiftly kissed the top of her head and made for the door.

Lina stared after him for a moment, utterly speechless. "When we... _married_?" The final word was a screech that could be heard throughout the palace. "Who said anything about us getting married?" she demanded as she headed after him. "No way, I am not going through this ... wait a minute. I could dress Naga in a gray canvas sack stained with ale. Perfect! Okay, we can do this! Hey, wait. You haven't even proposed properly to me! We are not doing this unless you get down on one knee, you jellyfish! And if we're showing Naga up, my ring better be more expensive than hers! Get back here!"

Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж

Lina figured, as she had the other 1,001 times Gourry had blurted out something regarding his feelings for her, that Gourry had gone off his rocker once more and he really didn't mean what he said. So, yes, their relationship had grown intimate and she knew that he loved her. And, yes, she loved him back. But despite being paraded around to the spectacle known as Martina's wedding and the bigger spectacle known as Naga's wedding, she never even began to apply that word to herself.

Attending weddings just didn't inspire the similar sorts of feelings in her as it apparently did with others. During the ceremony, Amelia sighed about how she longed to be a justice-fighting bride. Lina was filled with righteous indignation as Naga plowed through the part of her vows that were rewritten to include "in sickness and in health, until I have taken down my eternal rival Lina Inverse and beyond."

Lina had growled beneath her breath and started chanting a Fireball when she caught Gourry's face in the audience. He merely lifted an eyebrow and shook his head. She held up her bouquet to shield her face then stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his out as well and made a silly face. Lina nearly laughed and was so busy coming up with her own silly face that she had the good fortune to miss the extended kiss that Naga bestowed upon her groom.

As soon as she could, Lina stole three plates from one of the tables and sought out a hidden corner of the gardens. She yanked out the cloth she stuffed in her dress and tossed it to one side as she feasted. She was just starting to feel better when she heard the bushes rustle. She braced, readying herself to flee in case it was Amelia or Naga, then relaxed when she saw Gourry bearing two dishes of ice cream. "What flavor?" she asked as he sat beside her.

"Peach," he replied and started in on his.

"Good! I like peach." Lina abandoned her food and had taken two bites of the ice cream when she felt her spoon hit something hard. She frowned, dug out the pice and saw something glittering among the melting dessert. She plucked it out, studied it carefully. "Why is there a diamond ring in my ice cream?"

"Maybe the diamond ring fairy left it there," Gourry deadpanned and stole what remained of Lina's food.

Lina studied it carefully. It wasn't a big, gaudy ring like the one Naga had. It had a small stone protruding from it and other stones set into it - flush with the band so it wouldn't catch on anything. The diamond itself wouldn't make that big of a bulge if worn beneath a glove. She eyed Gourry as he ate. "You were serious?"

He gave her a confused look. "About what?"

"I presume this is from you!" Lina stuck the ring out at him.

Gourry nodded and blushed a bit.

She waved it at him. "You were serious! You want us to get married? How long you've been carrying this around?"

"A few months." Gourry shrugged. "You just didn't seem interested."

"You never asked if I was!" Lina sat back with a huff and stared at the ring. Then she dropped the ring in her water glass to clean it, pulled off her glove and slid it into place on her left hand. She wiggled her fingers. She wasn't one for wearing rings. Yet, this one didn't seem out of place. "It's not a bad ring. You did good."

Gourry blushed harder. "Thanks. Amelia didn't even help!"

"Good for you." Lina grinned up at him. "So… am I allowed to dress Naga up in a burlap shapeless sack?"

Gourry smiled as Lina moved close to his side and he placed his arm around her as she ate ice cream and prattled about all the hideous tortures she planned to subject Naga to … when the time came.


	29. Tomorrow is Something We Remember

**Disclaimer:** Slayers does not belong to me, but belongs to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi and the companies that represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while.

**Author's Note**: This story was written for witch_of_the_si on LiveJournal and is a prologue to "Nine Months ... and then Some." It falls nearly three years after "Search for the Darkstar" ends. As several folks have commented on my absence, I do want to issue a blanket apology for that. I lost my job in September right after publishing the third chapter of "The Very Long Night of Gourry Gabriev." Thanks to a lot of luck and perseverance, I've relocated to a new city and have found a new job ... so I can now rededicate time to writing! Also, I got engaged in December, and that has been its own grand adventure. My fiancé is also an avid Slayers fan and has published some of his work on here as well - in fact, we originally met through the fandom!

Thank you all very much for the well-wishes and, again, much apologies for having disappeared for so long!

Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж•Ж

Story #29: Tomorrow is Something We Remember

"Say, Amelia?"

Amelia looked up from her accumulated paperwork to see Gourry hovering in the doorway, a concerned look in his eyes and the rather large imprint of a slipper across one side of his face. She gave a little sigh and pushed away from her desk. "Oh, Gourry-san, what did you do now?"

Gourry blushed and stared at the carpet, fidgeting a bit. "I tried this year, I tried really hard to remember," he blurted out. "But, I forgot again and now Lina's mad at me, and do you know where I could possibly find a huge cache of gems that could possibly begin to pacify her?

Amelia's gaze flickered to the calendar on her desk and she flinched. "It's your third anniversary and Lina-san's birthday. It's coming up in a month or so."

"Yeah." Gourry dropped himself into a seat and sighed as Amelia moved around the desk. She lightly touched his cheek, channeling white magic into the injury until the mark faded. "I tied a piece of string around my finger the first year, but I sort of forgot what it was for. Then last year I was counting on a piece of paper, but I forgot which way I was counting. Now Lina brought it up today and I'd forgotten again and she smacked me for it. I think she has PMS."

Amelia shook her head. There was no use berating Gourry on his lack of memory. Gourry wouldn't be Gourry if his memory didn't have a few holes in it. Still, if Lina was this angry just a month away from the anniversary, she didn't want to think of what her friend would do if Gourry forgot again on the day itself. She was quite sure whatever town they happened to be in at the time would be able to withstand the destruction.

"An anniversary is important, Gourry-san," Amelia explained. "You know it has to be special for Lina-san to even mention it. We didn't even really celebrate her birthday until the two of you married. So, if it's that special to her, then she figures it's special to you."

"It is special," Gourry defended. He sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "We just keep getting into these huge messes and I forget what day it is. Like last year, when that Wizer guy was accusing Lina of making those mage tanks."

"True," Amelia agreed. She reached over and patted Gourry's knee. "I think I might have an idea."

She leaped to her feet and headed for a cabinet in the corner of the room. She pulled out a small gem and enchanting supplies. Gourry got up as well and watched, fascinated, as Amelia went through a small ritual to purify the gem. Them she clasped it in her hands as she chanted a spell beneath her breath. The gem glowed and a symbol flared briefly in the middle before going away. She chanted another spell, adding in the date of Lina and Gourry's third anniversary and a message. The gem flared brightly for a moment, then became dormant.

"Here you go!" Amelia handed the gem to Gourry.

Gourry frowned, tipped his head to one side. He held the gem up to the light. "I think it'll take more than this one to pacify her, Amelia."

"No, it's not for Lina-san. It's for you. It's an enchanted gem."

His eyes lit up. "It'll help me remember?"

Amelia smiled. "Yes, in a way. You're to keep it in your pocket at all times. On the morning of your anniversary, the gem will grow warm. When you hold it, and only you, it'll deliver a message from me. It's a variation of the Communication spell, and one used to convey top-secret messages among officials. I think that this qualifies for it."

Relieved, Gourry slipped the gem into his pocket and grabbed Amelia up in a hug. She laughed, wrapping her arms around the swordsman as much as she could in return. He suddenly lifted her, swung her around like a child and she laughed joyfully. "Thanks, Amelia," he said gratefully. "You're the best."

"Not a problem!"


	30. Things that Other People Desire

**Author's Note**: So ... **secondlina** on LiveJournal did a piece of fanart based off story #11 in this collection where Gourry is daydreaming about Lina and she cuts in. That piece of fanart, in turn, inspired the following fic. This fic inspired secondlina to do more fanart. The results of that fanart is an Amelia/Zel story that will be posted up in the "Sketchbook" collection of short stories. Enjoy!

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Story #30: "Recalling Things that Other People Have Desired"

Lina stormed out of the inn, muttering beneath her breath the entire time about stupid jellyfish and their inability to keep focused on a situation. They needed to search for this jar and it was impossible to do so when certain members of the party couldn't keep their brains on the task at hand.

She whirled around to face Amelia and Pokota, both whom had followed her out. "Why can't he ever pay attention to things?" Lina raged. She threw her hands in the air. "I think I spend more time catching Gourry up on what's going on than actually getting anything done! We need to be looking for the jar and he's off in la-la land again!"

Pokota nodded sagely, but Amelia had a slight smile on her face. She absently tapped her finger to her chin. "Gourry-san seemed like he was having a good daydream," she observed.

"Gourry can't seem to get his mind off of anything that doesn't involve food," Lina muttered with a huff.

Amelia thought of how embarrassed Gourry had looked and how he had refused to even move from the table after Lina had stormed out. "Did you ever think he might be daydreaming of you, Lina-san?"

That hit the mark. Lina's cheeks went scarlet and she gaped at Amelia for a full minute. "That's the most absurd idea you've come up with yet!" she sputtered.

"Maaaaaaybe." Amelia drawled out the word, pleased at Lina's bluster. "Maybe not."

Lina jabbed a finger in Amelia's face. "You read too many melodramas."

"Maaaaaybe," Amelia repeated and Lina shrieked with frustration. As she stomped down the street, Amelia smiled. "Maybe not."

From his perch atop Amelia's head, Pokota snorted. "She's never going to acknowledge her feelings, is she?"

-----

_"Lina?"_

_She whirled around to see Gourry standing a few feet behind her, an unreadable expression on his face. They stared at each other for several minutes. She wasn't quite sure what was happening, but she did have the incredible need just to reach out and touch him._

_So she did. She hesitantly approached him, looked up into his questioning eyes. Suddenly, she threw her arms around him. It seemed safe to do so at the moment. There was no one else around and so much had happened. Zuuma. Zanaffar. That moronic Kuppi. But they were still together, she and Gourry. Whatever feelings she ignored completely during the day she was managing to acknowledge now. It was almost like she was dreaming. Knowing her, she was dreaming. _

_Might as well enjoy the ride, Lina thought._

_Gourry's arms tightened around her and they simply held onto each other. He was a good solid mass of man and surprisingly skinny once he shed his trademark armor. Not that he was a rail or anything. Years of travel and swordsmanship had toned his body, but he wasn't huge. Just very tall. Lina lifted her head, tilting back just far enough to brush Gourry's nose. He smiled and she found herself returning it._

_Then he changed the angle of his head just slightly, his mouth covering hers in a kiss so gentle that she sighed into it. Her hands slipped from around his neck to cup his face as he did the same, moving her head into the right position to take the kiss deeper. His hands then smoothed down her arms and encircled her once more, pulling her flushed against him as he trailed kisses across her cheek then down the side of her neck. She closed her eyes, shuddering as he gently laved the skin covering the rapidly beating pulse in her neck. She pressed herself to him, delighting in the purely feminine power of knowing that a man wanted her and she had complete control over the situation._

_"Gourry," Lina breathed as she broke the kiss, staring into his eyes for a moment, then down. Her eyes popped open wide. "Why are you suddenly naked?" she shrieked._

-----

"But, I'm not!"

Lina snapped back to realty so fast that for a good 30 seconds she had no clue where she was. She slowly surveyed the area as Gourry, Zelgadiss, Amelia, and Pokota gave her confused looks. She swallowed and found her eyes meeting Gourry's. They held a look of complete understanding, almost as if he had experienced the same thing.

_Wait a minute._

Lina leaped to her feet. "You," she hissed at Gourry. "This is all _your _fault! _Dil Brando!_"

Gourry never had a chance. It was just powerful enough to make him go flying into the woods, screeching about the indignity of it all. Trembling with anger and suppressed desire, Lina let out a shriek and stomped off toward the nearby creek to splash some water on her face. Amelia scrambled to her feet, Pokota in her wake, calling out after Lina to wait.

"Well." Zelgadiss casually said aloud as Amelia and Pokota chased after Lina and a bedraggled Gourry dragged himself out of the woods. He helped himself to another cup of coffee. "I suppose it's time to lock those two in a closet." He took a slow sip of the brew and enjoyed the quiet while it lasted.


	31. Counterglow

**Author's Note:** This story came about due to catgabriev on LiveJournal translating out the final scenes of the last Slayers novel. In that scene, Lina scraped Gourry up from the battlefield, gets him to an inn, tends to his injuries, and stays up all night watching over him. I swear, if that isn't fanfic fodder, I don't know what is! The lines from Gourry later in the fic are from the catgabriev-translated excerpt from novel#13.

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Story #31: "Counterglow"

There was really no time to grieve. Not yet. Dazed, exhausted, Lina wearily turned in a circle and her heart suddenly stopped once more at the heap of blue, black, and blond - bits of red splattered over the ground.

"Gourry!" She tore over the clearing to his side, dropping to her knees. She gently rolled him onto his back and was rewarded with a groan for her efforts. It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard in her life.

Then she heard the buzz of commotion and assessed their surroundings. They'd been brought back to Sairaag, the magnificent city that was little more than a village at this point. _Surely they've seen odder things in their time than a beaten-up man and woman magically appear._ _Really, does anyone not remember Copy Rezo?_ Lina stood, fixed the crowd with her best glare.

"Can't you see this man is injured?" she yelled. She pointed at several random men. "You and you, help me get him to the nearest inn! You!" She whirled around, jabbed her finger at a trembling young girl. "Find me a healer. _Now._ If none of you help me, you'll really feel the wrath of Lina Inverse!"

As she guessed, the mere intonation of her name spurred people into action. Within a half hour, Gourry had been carried to the closest inn, where money and several threats had secured them the best room. While the summoned healer did his magic and helped change Gourry into pajamas, Lina cast several spells of her own to ensure them complete privacy.

"He doesn't look as bad as he seems," the healer reassured Lina as she paid him. "He just needs to sleep now. He'll be fine in the morning."

"Thanks, Pops," Lina said tiredly, waving him off. She closed the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes. The weight of everything that had happened was starting to rapidly descend, but she couldn't think of that right now. Gourry needed her more.

_And when,_ she thought, _did I start putting Gourry's well-being above my own? Oh, right. Giga Slave. Stupid jellyfish._

She pushed herself off the door and plopped down in the chair next to the bed. Gourry muttered something in his sleep, then turned onto his side, as if he was trying to inch closer to her. Lina stared down at him, willing her mind to blank out. If she thought ... she'd break down.

_"What are we going to doing, from now on? The two of us, I mean… we had agreed to travel together until we found a sword powerful enough to replace the Sword of Light… and we DID find it."_

Gourry's words from not all that long ago suddenly sprang to mind.

_"I don't need a particular reason in order to travel with you. Traveling aimlessly… that's fine, isn't it?"_

"Idiot," Lina muttered with a small smile. Because he was sleep, because her emotions were riding on edge, she found herself running her hand through his hair. She could have sworn that he leaned into her touch, but that definitely had to be a figment of her overtired imagination. She wanted to sleep and ... well, if anything happened to Gourry she'd have to hurt him. And that was that.

So she stayed up until dawn, absently stroking his hair and keeping watch over him.


	32. Will You Get Your Wish?

**Author's Note: **This story was written for a 31_days prompt two years ago on LiveJournal. I was going through my online community and had forgotten that I had written it. I changed a sentence or two and integrated it into this collection. I've always liked the outcome of this piece.

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Story #32: "Will You Get Your Wish?"

Lina Inverse never thought about her first kiss. She wasn't like the other girls, and quite frankly didn't care to be like them, thank you very much. Oh sure, she had dreamed of a prince upon a white steed coming along to bestow mountains of jewels, gold, and a castle upon her. But, the prince could keep his kisses. She just wanted the cash.

She overheard Sylphiel and Amelia talking by the fire one night shortly after Copy Rezo was defeated. The two shrine maidens chatted about what they expected their first kiss to be like.

"I've been kissed on the cheek before," Sylphiel told her younger comrade with a blush. "Plenty of times. Even Gourry-sama kissed me on the cheek when he left Sairaag a couple years ago."

_Snap._ Lina stared at the broken halves of the stick she'd been clutching. Bile rolled in her gut and she quickly dismissed it.

"I've been kissed on the cheek as well," Amelia replied. "But, I wouldn't mind a real kiss either."

"Me neither," Sylphiel said dreamily in a way that told Lina exactly whom Sylphiel wanted to kiss. Lina's hands bunched into fists and a thought resembling the words "over my dead body" came to mind.

Fortunately, Gourry and Zelgadiss returned from collecting firewood shortly thereafter and the discussion dropped. Lina blamed Sylphiel and Amelia every time she stared at Gourry for the next few days and wondered what it would be like to have him kiss her. Then, she quickly decided to target a bandit group for looting. She didn't want to think about kissing, touching, and everything that came with it. _I just don't care_, she insistently told herself.

After the group went their separate ways a few weeks later, Lina and Gourry encountered Black Fox and spent a hectic 24 hours trying to keep Lina from being kissed by the bandit. Lina thought Gourry was acting unusually strange, almost jealous. At one point, she expected her protector to march up to her and plant his lips on hers just to spite Black Fox. She was greatly relieved when he didn't, though part of her wished that he had. But, she told herself, that was entirely too silly. It was out of character for her to think about anything like that.

After reuniting with Amelia and Zelgadiss, and a certain incident with a trickster priest, Lina wondered if she had something precious stolen from her.

His lips had felt cold, Lina remembered as she touched the corner of her mouth – the place where Xelloss had placed his lips in a deliberate gesture to throw her off balance. It was on the mouth, wasn't it? Did Xelloss steal her first kiss?

Months later, after Xelloss pulled the move a second time and she eventually discovered the truth behind who he was, she was even more furious. A _Mazoku_ of all things had taken her first kiss! She wanted to scrub that corner of her lips out repeatedly, disinfect it, then scrub it again.

"It doesn't count!" Amelia insisted heatedly after she witnessed the second time Xelloss kissed Lina. "You didn't want Xelloss-san to kiss you, right?"

"It's always been my dream to lock lips with a Mazoku priest. Of course not, Amelia!" Lina shot back at her.

The princess nodded, satisfied. "Then it wasn't your first kiss."

The question floated in and out of Lina's mind over the next few weeks as things got worse with Gaav and Phibrizzo. After Gourry was kidnapped, Lina spent her nights lying awake in bed. She stared at the ceiling and replayed Xelloss's kisses, overlaying Gourry over the Mazoku. She flushed and her toes curled as she though of the way he would feel as he kissed her. His long hair would brush against her cheek, chin, and shoulders as his warm, dry lips touched the corner of her mouth. Tears streamed down her cheeks, pooled onto the pillow, and Lina realized that she had never missed anyone the way she missed Gourry.

After Gourry was rescued, Lina decided she lost her mind in the process. She started having the same dream every night. She was being drawn away from the world, folded into the very fabric of the universe. She heard her name being screamed, a cry of agony that seemed to be ripped from the depths of the soul. Then Gourry was there, stripped down to nothing but his gloves, tunic, trousers and boots. He was grabbing her arms, pleading with her, telling her how much he needed her. Then their arms were around each other and they kissed as if the world was ending.

In the morning, Lina would stare at the ceiling and marvel at the dream. That is what a first kiss should be, she realized, then dismissed the thought. She was Lina Inverse! She had no business dwelling on kisses and boys the way other silly women did. That's what the motto she lived by for years and she had no intentions of changing it now.

But things had changed after Phibrizzo, and Lina found her thoughts drifting to places they had not gone before. She found herself staring at her long-time partner as if she'd never seen him before – and she discovered that he snuck the same sort of glances at her. A tension that had been building for months seemed to escalate and it felt that the very air surrounding the two of them was electrically charged as they waited for the other to make the first move.

It happened in a manner that Lina thought appropriate for them. In an effort to get rid of some of the sexual tension, she had snuck out of the inn and made for the nearest bandit camp. One hour and six fireballs later, Lina felt much better and her purse was much heavier. The bandits had fled and she was cheerfully sorting through the loot to pick out valuables when she heard the crunch of grass.  She whirled, shooting off Flare Arrows and swore when they nearly grazed Gourry. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Chasing you," Gourry panted, hunching over to catch his breath. He scowled and she nervously ran her hand through her hair.

"You didn't have to get up," she said and turned back to the loot. "I'm almost done."

"You shouldn't run off in the first place!"

"I'm a big girl! I don't need you to hold my hand everywhere I go."

"I'm not holding your hand! I'm preventing the complete destruction of everything that you touch!"

Lina chucked a worthless piece of green crystal over her shoulder and crowed when she felt the smack of stone against flesh and Gourry's howl. "I destroy everything I touch, do I?" she yelled, whirling around.

"That hurt, Lina!" Gourry rubbed his forehead, looking hurt. "I'm just trying to protect you!"

"I don't need protecting!" Lina stomped over to him, jabbing a finger into his breastplate. "You've been more overprotective than usual and it's driving me insane."

"You're the one driving me insane," Gourry replied calmly. "I never know if you're out doing this or someone's captured you. I worry about you."

"Don't worry about me! I can handle myself." She scooped up her bag of loot and winced at the wounded look in his eyes and noticed, for the first time, the dark circles beneath them. Strange how she'd never noticed those before. She clasped his arm. "I'm okay. It's not like I'm going to disappear on you. I haven't ditched you yet, have I?"

"No," Gourry conceded with a small smile.

"Well, good. You piss me off when you act like this." Lina tried to let go of his arm, but couldn't move away. He was so close and the look in his eyes was just like when he was desperately pleading with her in her dream. Instinct took over. She fisted his tunic, yanked him to her eye level and crushed her lips to his, then levitated herself up so they were at the same height.

He kissed her back just as forcefully, his tongue pushing past her lips. She gasped, then returned the favor. His hands fisted in her hair and she pressed herself against him. Their shoulderguards clanked against each other and she felt the hard muscles that lined his chest, abdomen, and the ridge of flesh that pressed against her thigh.

It was complete and utter desperation; much like a dam after it's held back an enormous amount of water for far too long. His lips trailed hungrily over her chin, down the side of her neck and he suckled at her pulse point while she held his head close to her, begging him to continue.

When they broke away, she saw that his eyes were shining with something deep, dark, and foreign. It terrified and excited her at the same time. Her toes curled in her boots and she wanted more.

He took several deep breaths and gently ran his thumb across her cheek. "Was that your first kiss?" he asked quietly.

She thought of all the other kisses – chaste pecks in the corner of her mouth and the heated ones in her dreams. "Yes," she replied. "Yes, it was."


End file.
